Cerebral thrombosis or stroke occurs when the supply of blood to the brain gets reduced or impeded. Consequently, the brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients, which causes the brain cells to die.
A blocked artery, i.e. ischemic stroke or bursting / leaking of a blood vessel, i.e. hemorrhagic stroke, may be the cause.
Causes And Risk Factors For Cerebral Thrombosis
85 % of causes are ischemic strokes. Cerebral thrombosis occurs when the arteries that supply the brain get occluded resulting in diminished blood supply. A blood clot or a thrombus forms in an artery that supplies blood to the brain and this results in a decreased blood flow.
The blood clot occludes an artery leading to the brain. The thrombus tends to form in arteries that are impaired by a buildup of plaques.
A transient ischemic attack is a fleeting period of symptoms similar to those you’d have in a stroke.
ATIA develops when a clot obstructs the blood flow to a section of the brain. However, it does not leave any permanent symptoms since the obstruction is short-term.
Risk factors
- Being overweight
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Use of illicit drugs
- Having hypertension
- High cholesterol levels
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Sedentary lifestyle and no exercise.
- Abnormal heart rhythm, heart infection, heart defects.
- Personal or family history of heart trouble.
Cerebral Thrombosis Symptoms
Look out for these clinical features:
- Difficulty in speaking and understanding. Slurring and confusion are typical features.
- Numbness of the face, arm or leg or even paralysis.
- Blurring of the vision or the patient may see double.
- There will be a sudden, severe headache, followed by vomiting, giddiness or altered consciousness.
- Giddiness, loss of balance, and loss of coordination.
Treatment For Cerebral Thrombosis
To treat cerebral thrombosis, doctors need to speedily reinstate blood supply to the brain. Treatment with clot-dissolving drugs should commence within 3 hours. Timely treatment enhances the chances of survival and also decreases the risk of complications. Patient may be given these medications:
- Aspirin: Is an instantaneous treatment that is administered to diminish the possibility of another stroke. Aspirin makes sure that blood clots do not form again.
- Intravenous injection of TPA or tissue plasminogen activator is rather beneficial. It is administered through a vein in the arm. TPA re-establishes the flow of blood by dissolving the clot.
Doctors manage ischemic strokes with emergency procedures that need to be carried out as soon as possible:
- Drugs that are delivered directly to the brain. Doctors may deliver TPA directly into the area where the stroke is occurring via a catheter.
- Mechanical clot removal may be done using a catheter to break up and remove the clot.
In order to decrease your risk of having another stroke, the health care provider may suggest a procedure to open up an artery occluded by plaques. He may advise:
- Carotid endarterectomy: The doctor will remove the plaque from the carotid arteries. He will make an incision along the front of the neck, open the carotid artery and get rid of the blockage.
- Angioplasty and stents: The surgeon gains entry in to the carotid arteries usually via an artery in the groin. He will carefully steer to the carotid arteries in the neck. A balloon is placed to inflate the occluded artery. Then a stent is introduced to maintain the opened artery.