General Information
A stroke occurs when there is a sudden decreased of blood flow to the brain. This deprives the brain of these, which leads to cellular death and loss of neurological function.
What are glucose and oxygen?
Ischemic strokes occur when blood flow to the brain is blocked by these.
What are blood clots and stenosis?
Damage to this part of the brain causes memory impairment, altered creative perceptions, and impairment in attention. This doesn't typically affect the patient's moods as they are unaware of these deficits.
What is the right hemisphere?
Patients are typically NPO following a stroke until this test is performed.
What is a swallow study?
This OTC antiplatelet medication is commonly used to help prevent strokes.
What is aspirin?
This test is used to determine the type of stroke so it can be treated appropriately.
What is a CT scan?
Cardiogenic embolic is a form of ischemic stroke. They are most commonly caused by this cardiac abnormality.
What is afib?
Damage to this part of the brain causes emotional changes and other deficits that the patient is aware of, which can lead to depression or other mood disorders.
What is the left hemisphere?
This is the most common motor complication of strokes, that is characterized by weakness on one side of the body.
What is hemiparesis?
If a patient suffers a hemorrhagic stroke while taking blood thinners, you should expect to potentially administer these medications.
What are vitamin K (warfarin/Coumadin) or protamine sulfate (heparin)?
This is a top nursing priority in the first 24-48 hours following a stroke.
What is avoiding extreme blood pressures?
The deadliest form of strokes are hemorrhagic. They occur when a cerebral blood vessel ruptures, most commonly caused by this.
What is hypertension?
Recognizing the signs of a stroke quickly is essential to ensure the patient is treated as soon as possible. Treating a stroke within this amount of time has the best prognosis.
What is 3 hours?
Aphasia caused by damage to this area of the brain causes difficulty understanding written or spoken language. Their speech is fluent, but the patient experiences word salad.
What is Wernicke's area?
These are the three highest immediate nursing priorities when a patient has a hemorrhagic stroke.
What are managing blood pressure (decrease gradually), prevent increased ICP, and stopping the bleed?
This category of disorder is a risk factor for strokes. It includes lupus, antiphospholipid syndrome, and coagulation disorders.
What are autoimmune disorders?
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) occurs when cerebral ischemia occurs for this amount of time.
What is less than 24 hours?
Women are more likely to experience these nontraditional symptoms of a stroke that may be mistaken as anxiety or migraines.
What are general weakness, sudden fatigue, nausea/vomiting, confusion, and face or limb tingling?
This complication of a stroke typically occurs when the right hemisphere is damaged. It is characterized by failure to respond to stimuli on one side of their environment even though they have no impairment on that side. This could cause a patient to not notice on object on their left side even though there is no impairment to their vision. This complication can extend to motor function as well. The patient may not be able to move the extremities on that side of the body even though their motor function is intact.
What is neglect syndrome?
These two medications may be used to lower ICP by pulling excess fluid from the brain.
What are hypertonic fluids and osmotic diuretics (mannitol)?
Theses ethnicities have an increased risk of strokes.
What are Hispanic and African?
This type of hemorrhagic stroke is commonly caused by aneurysm ruptures or arteriovenous malformations (AVM). The most common symptom is a thunderclap headache.
What is subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)?
The acronym FAST is commonly used to quickly identify the most common early signs of a stroke. These are the symptoms that you would be looking for.
What are Face: uneven smile, facial droop; Arm: weakness in one arm; Speech: slurred, absent, inappropriate; Time: emergency care is needed ASAP?
Damage to the frontal lobe from a stroke may cause a patient to develop this condition where they are able to understand language, but their communication is impaired. The patient may be able to communicate through phrases such as, "Want... food... now...". This condition can be very frustrating for the patient because they are aware of the deficit.
What is Broca's (expressive) aphasia?
Ischemic strokes are treated with these two medications that must administered within three hours of the onset of symptoms. If they are administered too late, it can cause the patient to suffer irreversible brain damage and increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage.
What are tissue plasminogen activator (TPA)/alteplase and Tenecteplase (TNK)?