Do you know what is cerebral ischemia? Also called ischemic strokeis an interruption of blood flow in some region of the brain, which leads to an insufficient supply of oxygen to that area. This can lead to very serious symptoms and sequelae.
In this article we will learn what this medical problem consists of and the two types that exist; we will also learn the causes that originate it, the risk factors, its most frequent symptoms and the treatment applied.
- You might be interested in: “Women’s diseases: the 10 most common diseases they may suffer from”.
Cerebral ischemia: what is it?
In Spain, approximately every 6 minutes a person suffers a cerebral ischemia. This medical problem affects both men and women with approximately the same frequency; however, more than half of the people who die from it are women.
But what exactly is cerebral ischemia? Cerebral ischemia is a medical problem that can have serious consequences. Cerebral ischemia is also called ischemic strokecerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction or cerebral embolism, consists of an interruption of blood flow in the brain, in some part of it. This interruption of blood flow usually occurs suddenly.
This means that blood does not reach some areas of the brain, which can cause the death of certain nerve cells. This can lead to the death of certain nerve cells.. This happens because they do not get oxygen and nutrients from the blood. Thus, as we said, cells can die, especially if the time without blood supply is prolonged.
This causes significant lesions and damage to the brain, resulting in various types of sequelae, which we will see below. Cerebral ischemia, considered an ischemic stroke, is the cause of one type of stroke: ischemic stroke.
Types of this disorder
We must differentiate two types of cerebral ischemia: thrombosis and embolism. In thrombosis, the clot in question has formed in the wall of the cerebral artery. In embolism, on the other hand, the clot has formed in another area of the body (e.g. the heart), and has traveled through the bloodstream to reach a cerebral vessel.
Causes and risk factors
Normally, the cause of the flow interruption that originates a cerebral ischemia has to do with a clot or plaque formed in or around the brain, which clogs a blood vessel. This plaque ends up blocking the normal activity of the blood vessels, preventing oxygen from reaching the cells normally.
However, some people are more prone to some people are more prone to cerebral ischemia than others. Why? Because of risk factors. Thus, there are certain risk factors that can increase the probability of suffering a stroke, such as high blood pressure or tension, diabetes, obesity, lifestyle, smoking, chronic stress or cholesterol.
Thus, although cerebral ischemia usually occurs suddenly, there are factors that can increase the risk of stroke, there are factors that can increase the risk of cerebral ischemia.. Let us look at them in detail:
1. High blood pressure
Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for cerebral ischemia, specifically, the one that carries the most weight. In fact, having too high a blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for cerebral ischemia, having a blood pressure that is too highcan increase the risk of cerebral ischemia by up to five times.
2. Diabetes
Diabetes can also increase the risk of cerebral ischemia by accelerating the vascular aging process. Thus, it is a disease that affects the blood vessels.
Two ways to prevent it (unless it is type I diabetes) are: maintaining a healthy weight (through a balanced diet and regular exercise) and reducing the consumption of sugars and sweets.
3. Smoking
Tobacco consumption is another considerable risk factor, which can cause the appearance of clots in the bloodstream and alter the quality of our arteries, obstructing them and generally deteriorating cardiovascular health.
- Other tobacco risks: “9 major health benefits of quitting tobacco smoking”.
4. Cholesterol
Having high cholesterol means worsening the “health” and condition of our arteries. To reduce this cholesterol, we can opt for a healthier diet; foods rich in vitamins and fiber are beneficial, and those containing high amounts of fat, harmful.
5. Physical exercise
As we said, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help prevent cerebral ischemia. This means, in addition to eating well, regular exercise. Exercise helps to protect the cerebral arteries, taking care of their health, as well as the arteries of the heart.
6. Hormonal contraceptives
If you are taking hormonal contraceptives, you should also be careful, as they can increase the risk of cerebral ischemia (although the risk they usually carry is low).
This is because these contraceptive pills contain certain hormones that can enhance the formation of blood clots. can enhance the formation of blood clots.. Blood clots are a predisposing risk for stroke. Thus, in reality, the real risk appears when taking these contraceptives when there are other risk factors (being a smoker, suffering from obesity, etc.).
7. Advanced age
The fact of being over 55 years old poses an additional risk of suffering a cerebral ischemia. In fact, after that age, every 10 years we have double the risk of suffering one. On the other hand, young people (and those under 55 years of age) can also suffer a cerebral ischemia, although it is not as common.
Symptoms
The symptoms or sequelae that may appear as a result of suffering a cerebral ischemia will vary greatly from one case to another, and depend on factors such as the brain areas affected, the time without blood supply to these areas, the previous health of the ischemic patient, age, etc.
These symptoms can affect different functions of the organism (vision, language, mobility…), with the following symptoms being common: loss of vision, swallowing difficulties, speech difficulties, dizziness, headaches, confusion, numbness, difficulty walking and/or maintaining balance, loss of mobility or paralysis (of one or both sides of the body), loss of other cognitive functions such as memory, etc.
Treatment
The treatment of cerebral ischemia includes as a main element prevention. In fact, there are some warning signs and symptoms that may indicate the proximity of cerebral ischemia (e.g. loss of strength, loss of vision, sudden headache…).
These signs and symptoms should be noted. On the other hand, once a stroke is detected, the emergency services should be notified promptly.. It will then be the medical personnel who will attend to the patient, controlling his oxygenation level, blood pressure, blood glucose, etc.
Once the stroke has occurred, the after-effects will vary greatly depending on the severity of the stroke, the after-effects will vary greatly from one case to another, as we have already mentioned.As we have already mentioned, depending on the area of the brain affected. Thus, depending on these, the treatment to be applied will be one or another. Generally, neurorehabilitation treatments are chosen, whose mission is to enhance the lost cognitive functions (memory, attention, language, etc.), and which also include different services: speech therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, etc.