STROKE: A CASE STUDY 1
StrokeDiagnosis: A Case Study.
StrokeDiagnosis: A Case Study.
Strokeis a medical condition that results from failure of enough blood thatis nutrition and oxygen to reach a particular part of the brain. Themedical term for stroke is cerebrovascular accident abbreviated asCVA (Hugh et al., 2010). There are several types of stroke dependingon the cause of it for instance when blood clots in artery therebyblocking the flow of blood, the resulting condition known asthrombotic stroke. Apart from this, the other two common types ofstroke are an Embolic stroke, which occurs following a blood clotforming in the other part of the body and moves to the brain. Thesecond one is Hemorrhagic stroke that is caused when a blood vesselin the brain bursts allowing blood to move into the brain tissues(Robert & Rafael, 2007).
Duringmy last practicum, I had an opportunity to attend to a strokepatient. John, a 58-year-old man, had been hospitalized for threemonths. His wife wanted him checked she claimed her condition wasdeteriorating, and his past scan revealed an element of stroke.John’s past medical was unavailable at the time. However, hermedication showed he had been taking aspirin 81mg daily no knowndrug allergies were found. The wife revealed that John had beensmoking until four years ago, he also drinks socially, and his motherhad also succumbed to a stroke at the age of 78.
Physicalexamination showed that he was standing on 72”, 69kgs in weight,BMI of 27.2, blood pressure 150/99mm Hg and heart rate of 86bpm. Inhis diagnosis brain imaging with CT was recommended to establish thetype of stroke whether ischemic or hemorrhagic (Collins &Macmohan, 2016). This revealed ischemic stroke the diagnosis was animmediate injection of aspirin to avoid further stroke Intravenousinjection of tissue plasminogen activator. (TPA) is applied torestore the blood flow by dissolving the clot (Mohr et al., 2011).
Theeffect of the stroke will depend on the area of the brain involved.The follow-up for stroke victims is to help them recover fully andregain strength to embark on their usual activities. As aprecautionary measure, John was advised to quit drinking.
References
Collins,R., & Macmohan. S. (2016). Blood Pressure, antihypertensive drugtreatment and risks of stroke and coronary heart diseases. BritishMedical Bulletin, 50,272-280.
Hugh,M., Anthony, P., & Geoffrey, C. (2010). StrokeMedicine (Oxford Specialist Handbooks in Neurology).New York: Oxford University Press.
Mohr,J.P., James, C.G., Philip, A.W., Michael, A.M., Marc, R.M. &Rudiger, V.M. (2011). Stroke: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, andManagement. Philadelphia: Saunders Publishers.
Robert,J.W., & Rafael, H.L. (2007). Stroke.Washington. D.C: ACP Press.