Cerebrovascular Disease
By: Ashlee Rollins
What is Cerebrovascular Disease?
Vascular refers to arteries and veins
The term Cerebrovascular Disease includes all disorders in which an area of the brain is temporarily or permanently affected by ischemia (inadequate blood flow to an organ or part of the body) or bleeding and one or more of the cerebral blood vessels are involved in the pathological process
Cerebrovascular Disease includes stroke, carotid stenosis, vertebral stenosis, and intracranial stenosis, aneurysms, and vascular malformations.
How is Cerebrovascular Disease Diagnosed?
Tests include:
- Cerebral Angiography
- Cartoid Duplex
- CT Scan
- Doppler Ultrasound
- Electroencephalogram (EEG)
- Lumbar Puncture (Spinal Tap)
- MRI or MRA
Stroke
What are the Symptoms of Stroke?
- Dizziness
- Nausea or Vomiting
- Unusually severe headache
- Disorientation
- Memory loss
- Numbness or Weakness in limbs, especially on one side
- Abnormal or slurred speech
- Difficulty with comprehension
- Trouble with vision
- Loss of balance and coordination
What are the different types of Strokes?
Hemorrhagic: normally requires surgery to relieve pressure
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA): temporary and leaves no permanent damage
What are the risk factors?
- Smoking
- Hypertension
- Carotid or other artery disease
- History of TIA's
- Diabetes
- High Cholesterol
- Obesity
- Hormone Replacement Therapy
What are some Uncontrollable risk factors?
Gender: Strokes are more common in men than in women
Genetic Predisposition: Family history makes you more prone to Strokes
Race: African Americans are more prone to strokes than Caucasians because they are more prone to diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.