The brain makes up just 2% of your body's mass but consumes more than 20% of the oxygen in your blood.. Carotid arteries supply the front of the brain and vetrebral arteries supply the back ! these are connected to each other,and divides into smaller and smaller vessels that get billions of neurons the oxygen they need.Fatty deposits,or plaques, develop on the walls of our coronary arteries.These plaques grow as we age,sometimes getting chunky,hardened, or enflames.Eventually the plaques can turn into blockages.If the blood flow is interrupted,oxygen delivery stops and brain cell die.There are two ways this can happen; Hemorragic strokes are when a perforated vessel allow blood to leak out. but the most common type is ischemic stroke,when a clot blocks a vessel and brings blood flow to a halt. On rare occasions,a sudden change in heart rhythm prevents the upper chambers of the heart from contracting normally.This slows down blood flow,allowing plattets,clotting factors and fibrin to stick together. The clot can be carried up towards the arteries and blood vessels supplying the brain until it gets to one it can't squeeze through.This is called an embolism and it cuts off the oxygen supply to all the cells downstream.The brain doesn't have pain receptors,so you can't feel the blockage itself.But oxygen deprivation slows brain function and can have sudden,noticeable effects.For example,if the affected area is responsible for speech,and individuals words may be slurred. If the stroke affects a part of the brain that controls muscle movement,it can cause weakness,often just on one side of the body.When this happens,the body will immediately try to cpmpensate by diverting blood flow to the affected area,but this isn't a perfect solution. Eventually,the oxygen-deprived cells will start to die,leading to brain damage that may be severe or permanent.That's why it's important to get medical care as fast as possible.The first line of treatment is an intravenous medication Tisue Plasminogen Activator(TPA) which can break up the blood clot and allow blood to flow again in the compromised artery.If it's delivered within a few hours ,this medication greatly increases the chance of surviving the stroke and avoiding permanent consequences. If TPA cannot be given because the patient is on certain medications,has history of major bleeding,or the clot is particularly large,doctors can perform a procedure called endovascular thrombectomy.Using a fluorescent dye that illuminates the blood vessels under a strong x-ray,the physicians inserts a long,thin flexible tube called catheter into an artery in the leg and maneuvers it all the way to the blockage.A retriever is passed through this catheter.It expands and anchors into the clot when it's just past it.The catheter then pulls the clot out when it's removed.These treatments need to be delivered as soon as possible to preserve brain function,which means figuring out fast if someone is having a stroke.so how can you tell? here are 3 quick things to try; 1)Ask the person to smile.A crooked mouth or facial dropping can indicate muscle weakness. 2)Ask them to raise their arms.If one drifts downward,that arm weakness is also sign of a stroke. 3)Ask them to repeat a simple word or phrase.if their speech sounds slurred or strange,it could mean that the language area of their brain is oxygen-deprived. This is sometimes called the FAST test, and T stands for time.
Blogged by;Sajan Bajgain (Researcher & Learner )
