Apoplexy

From ArticleWorld

Apoplexy is an outdated term that in medical terminology is called a stroke. It was originally considered to be something that suddenly attacked someone and led to unconsciousness; however, the phrase, “having an attack of apoplexy” is currently used only colloquially.

Causes

There are three basic causes of apoplexy or stroke. The first is due to a blockage in one of the major arteries leading to the brain. Often, this blockage builds slowly and causes few symptoms until a blood clot forms within the wall of the artery leading to loss of circulation and stroke. One generally does not lose consciousness unless there is dysfunction on both sides of the brain. This would generally mean that a person has had a previous stroke on the opposite side in the past.

The second cause of apoplexy or stroke is a hemorrhagic stroke. This occurs when someone either has uncontrolled high blood pressure in the face of aged or weak arteries in the brain or because they have an aneurysm in the brain. Generally, strokes in younger people are due to a congenital aneurysm. The most complicated part of a hemorrhagic stroke is that the excess blood builds up in the skull, putting pressure on healthy parts of the brain. This kind of stroke can be fatal if it is large.

The third major cause of apoplexy or stroke is called an embolic stroke. Embolic strokes are caused by bits of arterial plaques or floating blood clots that travel as far as the brain and cause multiple small areas of stroke. This is generally not as serious as the other two types of stroke.

Treatment

Until fairly recently, all patients with apoplexy (stroke) were treated symptomatically with the idea being that the damage was basically done and the individual needed to simply rehabilitate from the effects of the stroke. Today, however, if an ischemic stroke (not from hemorrhage or bleeding) is caught early enough, medicines known as thrombolytics (clot-busters) are given that can quickly break up the blood clot(s) and can restore much if not all of the function that would have been lost had the patient been left without adequate blood supply to the brain.