What Are The Symptoms Of An Ischemic Stroke?
An ischemic stroke is a serious medical event where a blood clot becomes lodged in a blood vessel in the brain. Without a supply of blood, the brain cells begin to die in a matter of minutes. The underlying cause of an ischemic stroke can be from the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels or any other mechanism that can cause an embolus or clot to travel to or develop in the brain. Diagnosis of an ischemic stroke is made with a physical exam, MRI, CT scans, electroencephalogram, evoked potential tests, echocardiography, and angiography. An ischemic stroke is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment to minimize the extent of permanent brain damage. Usually, full recovery is possible if emergency room treatment is sought within three hours of the stroke onset.
Symptom recognition is critical to the overall outcome in individuals who have an ischemic stroke.
Sudden Numbness Or Weakness
An individual in the process of having an ischemic stroke may experience sudden numbness or weakness in their face, hands, arms, legs, or feet. Numbness is the loss of sensation in a part of the body, but it does not always entail the parallel decline of motor function. Weakness is the impaired ability to move the muscles in one or more parts of the body but may not always include parallel impairment of sensation. Both sudden numbness and weakness alone or in combination, can indicate an individual is experiencing a stroke. Most individuals who have a stroke experience these symptoms on one side of their body and or face. This unilateral effect occurs when a stroke causes blood deprivation to the arteries responsible for supplying the nerves in the individual's brain responsible for sending signals to the muscles and nerves on the corresponding side of the body. The part of the body or face that experiences numbness or weakness may appear droopy or flaccid.
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Loss Of Vision
An individual's visual ability is determined by two primary factors, a healthy visual processing center in the brain and a healthy eye for the delivery of said visual information. A stroke that stops blood from flowing to parts of the parietal lobe, occipital lobe, or temporal lobe can cause patients to experience stroke-related loss of vision. Left-sided vision loss in both eyes typically occurs when a patient has an ischemic stroke that mainly affects the visual centers in the right side of their brain and vice versa for right-sided vision loss in both eyes. An ischemic stroke that affects a patient's temporal and or parietal lobe can cause them to have vision trouble with more of a visual-spacious awareness nature, such as the inability to identify objects or failure to recognize faces. Some aspects of vision loss can be rehabilitated and improved over time following a patient's ischemic stroke, and some visual impairment may be permanent.
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Sudden Headache
Between seven and sixty-five percent of individuals who have an ischemic stroke also experience a sudden headache before or as their stroke occurs. A headache that occurs due to an ischemic stroke will have a focal point in the patient's brain where the blockage has occurred. A headache located in an individual's forehead can indicate their stroke is occurring in their carotid artery, the major artery in their neck that provides blood to the brain. A headache that occurs in the rear side of a patient's head can indicate a stroke is occurring in their vertebrobasilar system, which is responsible for the blood supply to the back of their brain. One way to distinguish an everyday headache or migraine from a headache caused by a stroke is by the speed of its onset. An ordinary headache typically develops slowly, while a headache that occurs due to an ischemic stroke will occur suddenly and without warning.
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Confusion Or Trouble Speaking
An individual having an ischemic stroke may begin to have problems with communication. They may speak with sentences that do not make any logical sense, speak in incomplete sentences, use one word in the place of another, speak words that do not exist, be unable to understand the conversation between others, and may not be able to write words or sentences that make logical sense. Most individuals have the components that control their ability to understand language and speak in the left side of their brain. This location may be reversed in left-handed individuals. A stroke that affects this part of the brain can cause the patient to be unable to understand and put together words. Another mechanism through which a stroke can cause a patient to have problems speaking is when they cannot coordinate the movement of their mouth to make sounds or words. General confusion often manifests with speech problems in patients having an ischemic stroke.
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Issues With Balance And Walking
It is not uncommon for a patient having an ischemic stroke to experience issues with balance and walking. These symptoms are often precipitated from a sudden weakness in the affected individual's leg that occurs due to the lack of blood flow to the nerves responsible for the impulses that trigger the movement of the leg muscles. Other stroke-related causes of balance and walking problems can be related to an individual's visual ability. If the patient has an ischemic stroke that impairs their ability to relate their body position to space and objects around them, it can cause them to be unable to walk or keep their balance. An individual having an ischemic stroke may complain about feeling dizzy. They may appear to be clumsy on their feet, stumble, or have trouble with just standing up. Patients who have an ischemic stroke who experience other stroke symptoms may appear to have an abnormal gait if their balance is being affected.