Stroke is the injury of brain tissue which cannot receive blood because of the disordered blood circulation in the brain. Loss is observed in the functions which the damaged brain tissue provides in the body. Stroke is a medical emergency situation and early intervention is performed to normalize blood circulation as quickly as possible.
Stroke Treatment
The medications and methods which are used in the early treatment of stroke depend on the type of stroke. A stroke can be caused by brain hemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke) or brain embolism (ischemic stroke). Different treatments are used if the stroke is caused by bleeding, and different treatments are used if the stroke is caused by embolism.
Ischemic Stroke Treatment
In strokes caused by brain embolism, doctors quickly apply treatments to normalize blood flow to the brain again. These treatments include:
Vasodilators
Medications to break up the clot which caused the embolism should be given intravenously within 4-5 hours from the start of symptoms. These medications aim to restore blood flow by breaking the blood clot which caused the stroke. The earlier the patient reaches emergency intervention and the earlier the medications are used, the higher the achievement of the treatment. While early intervention increases the chance of survival, it also reduces the loss of function which may occur after stroke.
Emergency Endovascular (Intravenous) Treatments
In some cases and on the suitable patients, doctors treat the strokes caused by embolism by using intravenous methods without open surgery
Like the angioplasty procedure for the heart, generally a long thin tube (catheter) is inserted through the artery in the groin area and the aimed blood vessel is reached. The desired medication can be delivered directly to the brain by this method. Sometimes it is also preferable to take the clot off directly from the blood vessel with a device which is connected to the catheter. This method is also called as closed brain blood vessel surgery because there is no surgical incision applied here.
It has been proven that the intravenous treatments which are applied as soon as possible improve survival and reduce long-term disability after stroke in suitable patients significantly.
Other Treatments
Your doctor may recommend some vasodilator treatments to prevent another stroke. These are:
- Carotid Endarterectomy: The carotid arteries which reach out from both sides of the neck into the brain (commonly known as the jugular vein) are the vessels which supply blood into the brain. Carotid endarterectomy is the treatment of clots and blockages in these arteries by surgical operation.
- Angioplasty and Stenting: This is the process of inserting a stent through the artery in the groin area to widen carotid artery which has narrowed.
Hemorrhagic Stroke Treatment
In strokes caused by brain hemorrhage, the emergency treatment focuses on stopping the bleeding and reducing the pressure in the brain caused by brain edema (excess fluid which occurred because of bleeding). Options of treatment are as follows:
Medication
If you use anticoagulants or blood thinners, you can be given different medications or blood products to resist the effects of these medications. You can also be given medicines to reduce pressure in the brain (intracranial pressure), lessen the blood pressure, prevent blood vessel spasm and seizures
Endovascular Embolization
The brain is reached by a catheter which is inserted through an artery in the groin area and medical materials can be placed in that area to stop the bleeding there. Thanks to this, blood flow is prevented, and the clotting of blood is ensured.
Surgical Treatment
If the area of bleeding in the brain is big, surgical operation may be performed to take the blood and reduce the intracranial pressure. If the bleeding in the brain was caused by an aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation (AVM) or another type of blood vessel problem, surgical operation may also be recommended to fix that blood vessel problem.
The medicines and treatment methods listed here may not be suitable for your or your patient’s situation. For instance, the nonuse of vasodilators may be because of the high bleeding risk in your brain. You should trust the healthcare team and your doctor whom you have consulted on receiving the best treatment. The articles here are only for informational purpose and do not contain any therapy recommendation.
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