Infarction of the brain: how terrible is the disease?

The cerebral infarction is a very complex disease for both treatment and for the further life of the person who has suffered it. In this case, the abundance of affected areas of the brain will inevitably cause irreversible impairment of functions, since highly differentiated brain tissue changes irreversibly very quickly. Only 7 minutes in conditions of inadequate circulation can turn off the cortical areas permanently.

The cerebral infarction is provoked by numerous factors, among which the main role belongs to the thrombosis of blood vessels of the great circle of blood circulation or the detachment of an atherosclerotic plaque from the inner shell of the carotid artery. Moving along the vessels, a thrombus or an atherosclerotic plaque will always block the lumen of a vessel smaller in size than they are. Also embolus can get from the left side of the heart with valvular vegetative endocarditis or transmural myocardial infarction. Infarction of the brain can be caused by blocking the lumen of the vessel with a gas bubble that enters the bloodstream during open heart surgery. After embolization of the vessels, the brain tissue experiences a severe deficiency of oxygen and glucose. At the same time for brain cells such a deficit is very dangerous - it leads to irreversible shutdown of the affected area from work. As a result, an acute cerebral infarction develops, the symptoms of which depend on the localization of the lesion and its volumes. In another way, this disease is called ischemic stroke.

Types and symptoms of cerebral infarction

There are several types of ischemic stroke, depending on the localization of the embolus-clogged vessel. This can be a heart attack in the basin of the anterior, posterior and middle cerebral arteries. Less often, the vessels of the vertebrobasilar basin are involved in the process, which is explained by the small lumen of its vessels, because the localized cerebral infarction there is much smaller in size. The first symptoms manifested in cerebral infarction are the following changes:

• The patient does not experience painful sensations due to the absence of these receptors in the brain.
• At the same time, the leading signs of a heart attack are paresis of motor activity on the opposite side of the lesion focus. The weakness of the limb, the inability to realize meaningful movement are the criteria of central paralysis.
• However, involuntary movements in this limb are available, which is realized due to the segmental apparatus of the spinal cord.
• Symptoms also include paresis of facial musculature, especially with a heart attack in the basin of the middle cerebral artery.
• Then, motor aphasia (loss of speech) is also observed due to the defeat of the Broca speech center, localized in the lower frontal gyrus. In women, speech activity can be preserved because of the presence of two speech centers in each of the hemispheres.
• Also on the side of the lesion, the symptom of the dilated pupil is often seen, but in the other eye it is of normal size.

Is it possible to cure a cerebral infarction?

If you or your family have had a cerebral infarction, treatment can be delayed for an indefinite period. To do this, use several different groups of drugs that provide pathogenetic and symptomatic therapy. The first type of medication is disaggregants and thrombolytics, which are appropriate to use aspirin + clopidogrel, as well as streptokinase or alteplase. For symptomatic therapy, drugs used to arrest convulsive syndrome and vegetative disorders of cardiac and respiratory activity are suitable. It is also advisable to administer nootropic drugs that will improve cerebral activity, although they will not restore the affected cells. In any case, even with the patient's timely referral to the hospital, it is almost impossible to return him to a full-fledged life after suffering a cerebral infarction.