Stroke is described as brain function loss arising from a disturbance of brain blood supply. Being a broad term, specific types of strokes are named according to the cause. For example, there are two main types of stroke. One is the hemorrhagic stroke and second one is the most common ischemic stroke. Sarah suffered from hemorrhagic stroke as her symptoms indicated. Hemorrhagic stroke can be understood well when the mechanism of activities leading to an attack are described. This kind of stroke arises when blood accumulates in the brain tissue surrounding a ruptured vessel. The blood causes pressure which can lead to problems.
The symptoms which were exhibited by Sarah are largely connected to stroke. First Sarah complained of a headache which she described as piercing behind her right eye. Minutes later she was unable to balance herself and had to walk leaning on the things on her right side. She was struggling to walk and felt that she lost her balance. Later she discovered that her left side of the body was paralyzed. Her left arm did not stick in through her dress arm and she did not notice. Exploring the symptoms of stroke there are several things that catch the eye. The main symptoms of stroke are listed as the following; general weakness especially on one side of the body, confusion with speech, problem with sight, trouble walking, loss of coordination or balance, and sudden headache.
For Sarah, three things were clear that she might have had stroke. First was the sudden piecing headache emanation behind her eye, trouble walking or loss of balance and paralysis of her left side of the body. The neurological wiring of the brain can explain the symptoms. The brain serves as the center of body control. The brain is divided into two major regions first is the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. However, these hemispheres have regions which control the basic body functions. It is proven that though these regions performs varied functions there is huge concert and all actions are well coordinated to involve specific areas and their subsequent control.
Brain injury can be explained well when a region function is lost or deteriorates. In Sarah’s case, the reduced function and paralysis of the left part of the body can be linked to the cross wiring of the hemispheres. For example the right hemisphere controls the muscle movements in the left side of the body. Similarly the right hemisphere is wired to control the left side of the body. Following these observations, it can be concluded that the stroke suffered by Sarah originated or affected the right hemisphere. Due to the neural cross wiring, it is the left side of the body which was affected. The pressure impacting the brain region can be attributed to the loss of function to the parts controlled by the neurons in that part of the brain.
According to the CAT scan performed on Sarah, the doctors were able to pin point that there was a massive bleeding on the right side of her brain. As discussed earlier, the wiring of brain specifically the cris-crossing is responsible for the observation. In this scenario there is need to put into consideration the patient’s life style and disease history.
Sarah described herself as an active ballerina. This means that she practiced a lot and therefore misses out on many factors that predispose one to a stroke attack. The factors which predispose one to an attack are diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, smoking to mention a few. However, for Sarah her exercises may have lead to limited flow of blood in her legs. This may have likely lead to clotting and this clot may have been transported to the brain leading to a blockage and eventual burst causing the stroke. However, this is a theory and more investigations are needed to pick out the root cause of this attack.
References
Baars, B., & Gage, N. (2010). Cognition, Brain, and Consciousness (2 ed.). Ney York: Elsevier.
Cabeza, R., Nyberg, L., & Park, D. (2010). Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging Linking Cognitive and Cerebral Aging (2 ed.). NY: Oxford University Press.
Uchino, K., Pary, J., & Grotta, J. (2011). Acute Stroke Care (Cambridge Pocket Clinicians) (2 ed.). London: Cambridge University Press.
