Stroke Rehabilitation And Stroke Treatment

By Author: Kieth Gauvreau
Total Articles: 13
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What is a stroke?
A stroke is a "brain attack" that happens when a part of the brain experiences a problem with blood flow. This disruption in blood flow cuts off the supply of oxygen to the cells in that part of the brain, and these cells begin to die.

Damage to the brain can cause loss of speech, vision, or movement in an arm or a leg, depending on the part of the brain that is affected.Stroke is the major form of cerebrovascular disease, or CVD, a term that sometimes is used interchangeably with stroke.

Stroke affects
Stroke can affect people in different ways. It depends on the type of stroke, the area of the brain affected and the extent of the brain injury. Brain injury from a stroke can affect the senses (such as eyesight, touch, awareness of body positioning), motor activity (movement of arms or legs), speech and the ability to understand speech. It can also affect behavioral and thought patterns, memory and emotions. Paralysis or weakness (the inability to move the arms or legs properly, or at all) on one side of the body is common.

Stroke rehabilitation
Rehabilitation helps stroke ...
... survivors relearn skills that are lost when part of the brain is damaged. For example, these skills can include coordinating leg movements in order to walk or carrying out the steps involved in any complex activity. Rehabilitation also teaches survivors new ways of performing tasks to circumvent or compensate for any residual disabilities. Patients may need to learn how to bathe and dress using only one hand, or how to communicate effectively when their ability to use language has been compromised.

Stroke Treatment
A stroke is a condition that cannot be messed around with. If prompt, emergency medical care is not given as soon as symptoms present themselves, the person could suffer irreversible brain damage or even worse, die. And even when they do get stroke treatment, they could still suffer enough brain damages where they have limited facilities.

1. Drugs Given During a Stroke : Drugs are stroke treatments that are commonly used for Ischemic stroke sufferers. This is a type of stroke in which a fatty deposit clogs blood vessels in the brain. The drugs used for Ischemic stroke treatment first try to destroy the clot that is there. This is called a clot-busting or thrombolytic drug. A specific type of clot-buster that is used as a stroke treatment is tissue plasminogen activator, (also known as TPA).

2. Surgery : Surgery is used for Ischemic strokes as well as hemorrhagic strokes, (a type of stroke where blood vessels burst). For Ischemic strokes the types of surgical procedures that are used include: Carotid endarterectomy, Angioplasty and catheter embolectomy. With Carotid endarterectomy stroke treatment, doctors remove the plaques that are in the carotid artery.

Surgical stroke treatment for hemorrhagic strokes is a bit different than the treatment that is done for Ischemic strokes. These include: aneurysm clipping, coiling and surgical AVM removal. With aneurysm clipping a clamp is placed on the aneurysm, (which is a build-up of blood).

3. Drugs Given After a Stroke : This is a stroke treatment that is commonly given to Ischemic stroke sufferers. These include anti-platelet drugs and anticoagulants. Anti-platelet drugs destroy platelets, which are substances that are more likely to result in the type of clotting that causes stroke.

A person's family has a key role in rehabilitation. A caring and able spouse or partner can be one of the most important positive factors in rehabilitation. Family members' knowledge also helps a lot. Family members need to understand what the stroke survivor has been through and how disabilities can affect the person. It will be easier for them to handle the situation if they know what to expect and how to handle problems that arise after the person leaves the hospital. Read more Rehabilitation Information