Stroke and TIA Flashcards
What is the difference between an ischaemic stroke and TIA?
TIAs and ischaemic strokes are both caused by an interruption of blood supply to an area of the brain, however the symptoms of TIA fully resolve within 24 hours (usually a lot less time)
What is dysarthria?
A motor speech disorder resulting in poor articulation
What is dysphasia?
A language disorder resulting in difficulties of generating speech (expressive) or comprehension of speech (receptive)
What are the features of TIA and stroke?
Headache, nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness, numbness, tingling, incontinence, weakness, confusion, loss of balance, visual problems, difficulty understanding and producing speech
What is ataxia?
Group of disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech
What is dysphagia?
Swallowing problems
If swallowing is not checked on a patient, what may occur?
May lead to aspiration pneumonia and choking
What are risk factors of stroke?
-Hypertension
-Diabetes
-Previous stroke/TIA
-Smoking
-Excessive alcohol intake
-Combined oral contraceptive pill
-Weight
How may ischaemic strokes occur?
Can be caused by atheroma or thromboembolism
Why is atrial fibrillation a risk factor for stroke?
Atrial fibrilalion may cause clots which can turn into emboli and lead to the brain
What does FAST stand for?
FACE
ARMS
SPEECH
TIME
What can damage to the motor area of the right cerebral hemisphere cause?
Weakness of the left arm, leg and face
What can damage to Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas in a stroke cause?
Broca’s= speech problems
Wernicke’s= difficulty in understanding speech, reading and naming objects
What must be done to determine the cause of a stroke?
A brain CT usually
What is a doppler ultrasound?
An ultrasound of the carotid arteries in the neck- in stroke can check for patches of atheroma
