Left hemispheric stroke

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        Left hemispheric stroke

stroke occurs when blood supply is intrrupted to the brain. This is caused by a blood clot blocking a vessel in our brain, or a torn vessel bleeding into our brain. The left side (hemisphere) of our brain controls the right side of your body. It also controls our speech and language abilities. After a left hemispheric stroke, we may have trouble in  talking, swallowing, or walking. we become more slowly and our memory may be worse than before the stroke. A left-hemisphere stroke often causes paralysis of the right side of the body. This is known as right hemiplegia.

Causes of left side stroke

There are mainly two causes of stroke

 1)Ischemic stroke:   this mainly occurs when an artery to our brain gets blocked due to  plaque  in our artery. Plaque happens when fatty deposits and other things build up in an artery. It  can also get a blocked artery from a blood clot also. The clot can break loose from an artery somewhere else and travel to our brainstem. The clot may get stuck in a narrow blood vessel, stopping blood and oxygen from reaching our brain. This is called an ischemic stroke. Most strokes are ischemic strokes.

 2)Hemorrhagic stroke: A blood vessel may break and leak if a clot gets stuck in it, or the vessel wall is weak. Blood then flows out of the vessel and into brain tissue. This is called a hemorrhagic stroke

 Risk factors for left hemisphere stroke

  •  patient may be  55 years old or more than that..
  • Common in  woman  who  use birth control pills, or take  hormone replacement medicine after menopause.
  •  father or mother already had a stroke, or  had a low weight when we were born.
  • There is high blood pressure, or blood vessel or sickle cell disease that is not being treated.
  •  There may be atrial fibrillation, diabetes or other heart or blood vessel conditions.
             Effects of left hemisphere stroke

                                         The effects of a left hemisphere stroke may include the following:

  •  There may be right-sided weakness (right hemiparesis) or paralysis (right hemiplegia) and sensory impairment.
  •  Difficulty in  speech and understanding language (aphasia)
  • visual problems are common , including  inability to see the right visual field of each eye (homonymous hemianopsia)
  • impaired ability to do math or to organize, reason, and analyze items
  • behavioral changes such as depression, cautiousness, and hesitancy are common
  • impaired ability to read, write, and learn new information.
  • memory problems are common
             Treatment of left side stroke

                                   Treatment mainly depends  causes of stroke, and  signs and symptoms of the patient. we  need the following medicines:

  • Cholesterol medicine: This type of medicine is given to  decrease (lower) the amount of cholesterol (fat) in our blood.
  • Other medicines: You may need medicine to  treat diabetes or to prevent seizures. Medicine may be given to keep our blood pressure at a certain level if it is too high or too low.

                                                                    If  stroke was caused by a blood clot, you may also need the following medicines:

  • Thrombolytics: This medicine is given to break  blood clots and help blood flow more easily.
  • Aspirin: This is medicine that may be given to help thin the blood to keep blood clots from forming.
  • Antiplatelets: This medicine is given to prevent formation of blood clots
                                                Other treatment include
  • Ventilator: A ventilator is a special machine that can breathe for us, if  we cannot breathe  we may have an endotracheal tube (ET tube) in our mouth or nose. A tube called a trach may go into an incision (cut) in the front of our neck. The ET tube or trach is hooked to the ventilator. The ventilator can also give oxygen
  • Surgery:
    • Ventriculostomy: If  there is  too much fluid and swelling around  brain, a tube may be placed through skull to drain the fluid. This tube also checks the pressure in  brain.
    • Craniotomy: If  stroke was caused by bleeding into brain tissue,  surgery  should be done to remove the blood or fix a damaged blood vessel.
        • Carotid endarterectomy: Blocked carotid arteries can cause poor blood flow to our brain. If our carotid arteries are blocked, surgery called carotid endarterectomy may be done. This surgery widens the arteries so that blood can flow through more easily.
        • Blood vessel filter: If we  are at high risk of getting a clot in our leg (DVT) we  may need to have a filter device placed in our blood vessel. This is called an inferior vena cava filter.Go to your rehabilitation sessions:
        •                        Rehabilitation (rehab) is an exercise and activities program. Rehab can help to  return to our usual activities and prevent problems, such as muscle shortening (contractures) and  skin  breakdown (bedsores). Physical therapists may work  to strengthen arms, legs, and hands. They may help relearn or improve how  we walk (gait training). Occupational therapists may teach tthe  new ways to do daily activities, such as getting dressed. A speech therapist may help  in  relearn or improve our ability to talk and swallow
        •                                                   rehab program may include functional electrical stimulation that  help our muscles work better.  weight lifting to increase our strength.  exercises to improve our balance and movement to decrease risk of falling. Stretching exercises, riding a bike, or walking can also help to recove

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