From this article you will learn: the consequences of a stroke in the left hemisphere, and how many people live who have suffered it.
Content of the article:
- Complications after ischemic stroke of left side
- How many people live after ischemic stroke of the left hemisphere
Ischemic stroke( cerebral infarction) is the necrosis of the brain region due to insufficient blood supply. It can lead to diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as atherosclerosis, thrombosis, chronic hypertension, spasms of cerebral vessels, ischemia of the heart, severe arrhythmias.
The consequences of an ischemic stroke depend on the degree of its severity, as well as on which part of the brain was affected. The left side of the brain is 14% more likely to suffer from a stroke than the right side. The consequences of a left-sided stroke differ from the effects of the right-sided stroke, since the right and left hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different activities. You will learn more about this later in this article.
Five groups of consequences of ischemic stroke of the left hemisphere( the links below lead to the relevant sections of the article):
- Motor( impaired coordination movements);
- disorders of internal organs;
- speech;
- cognitive( memory, thinking);
- psychoemotional( fears, depression).
Consequences, complications of ischemic stroke of the left side
1. Motor disorders
Since the left side of the brain "controls" the right side of the body, after paralysis, paralysis or impaired sensation of the right side of the body may occur.
These pathologies manifest themselves immediately after a cerebral infarction. Left-sided cerebral infarction can be recognized by such symptoms:
- sagging the right side of the face due to relaxation of facial muscles;
- inability to raise the right hand either at all, or as high as the left one;
- loss of sensitivity of the right leg or arm.
Motor dysfunction after a stroke Paralysis for inadequate rehabilitation can remain for the rest of your life.
2. Pathology of internal organs after left-sided stroke
Since the left hemisphere is responsible for the entire right side of the body, after a stroke, it can paralyze not only the right arm and / or leg, but also one of the right paired organs( kidney, lung).Due to paralysis, the functioning of the organ is completely stopped. This is one of the most serious complications of a stroke.
3. Speech disorders
Since there are speech centers in the left hemisphere, aphasia can occur after a stroke, a violation of an already formed speech.
Types of aphasias
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Aphasia Broca( efferent motor aphasia) | Named after the French physician who first described it in the second half of the 19th century. When speech of this type is broken, a person loses the skill to grammatically correctly construct sentences. Thus there is a so-called "telegraphic" style of communication, in which the patient speaks briefly, in separate words. Also the victim can confuse sounds and replace one with another. Also, intonation is lost, speech becomes monotonous. |
| Dynamic aphasia | This type of aphasia occurs when the front of the left hemisphere has suffered from a stroke. This is a violation in which a patient can not formulate a phrase and say it. Man loses the ability to use verbs, pronouns, prepositions. Speech almost entirely consists of nouns in the nominative case. |
| Afferent motor aphasia | Occurs because of a lesion of the posterior region of the left hemisphere due to cerebral infarction. The patient with this violation of speech confuses sounds that are close in pronunciation. Also, it can incorrectly place sounds inside the word. |
| Aphasia Wernicke | Named after the German psychoneurologist who discovered the disease in the late 19th century. Occurs when the temporal region of the left hemisphere is affected. This is the inability to perceive speech by ear. A person can hear words, but does not analyze them and does not associate with any objects. This can be compared to how a healthy person perceives a language he does not know. Violated and written language. Oral speech in such patients is usually full of prepositions and conjunctions, there are fictitious and distorted words. Statements are long, but not informative. Sometimes a patient does not realize that he has a speech disorder, gets angry and gets angry when he is not understood. |
| Total aphasia | The most serious speech disorder. Occurs only in cases of very extensive stroke. This is a complete inability and understanding, and reproduce the speech both in the ear and in writing. |
The type of aphasia depends on which part of the brain was affected by Sometimes speech disorders are triggered not by damage to the corresponding brain centers, but by damage to the muscles of the larynx, pharynx and tongue. In this case, a person perceives speech well, writes, can formulate his thoughts, but speaks inaudible, he has a "porridge" in his mouth.
4. Cognitive impairment after left-sided stroke
The left hemisphere is responsible for logical thinking. People with a well developed left hemisphere have a mathematical mind, are prone to exact sciences, easily learn foreign languages.
If the left side of the brain is affected by a stroke, the following consequences may occur:
- inability to remember dates and phone numbers;
- loss of ability to count in the mind;
- complexity in logical and abstract thinking;
- loss of the ability to draw conclusions and classify information;
- difficulties in remembering the chronology of any events.
5. Disorders of the psychoemotional sphere
After suffering a stroke, many patients have a phobia of re-emergence of pathology, a fear of being disabled. Patients sometimes consider themselves a burden to their loved ones, so they treat themselves and their health negligently, reluctantly undergo rehabilitation. Often, because of the severe consequences of a stroke, when a person suddenly loses the ability to actively move, he can become aggressive, restless and conflictful because of his feelings of helplessness and inferiority.
These are all symptoms of post-stroke depression. In this case, the patient needs to work with a psychologist or psychotherapist, since prolonged depression increases the risk of a second stroke.
Survival statistics after an ischemic stroke
It is impossible to say exactly how many people will survive after a cerebral infarction, no one can. But you can make your own conclusions for yourself by reading statistical data.
Thus, some of the survivors of ischemic stroke patients are 85%.If a person does not die immediately or in the first week after a cerebral infarct, the chances of his death in the coming month are only 7.5%.The risk of re-infarction of the brain within 1 year after the first - 14%, within 5 years - 25%.A second stroke is more likely to cause death than the first. After the third, practically no one survives.
How many people will live after the stroke and whether it happens again, largely depends on the quality of rehabilitation.
The chance of a full recovery after a stroke also depends on the qualifications of the doctors, the conditions in which the patient is located, the quality of care for him, as well as the attitude of the patient himself to the rehabilitation process, as the rehabilitation provides for a long work with specialists of different profiles.
We provide statistical data on the elimination of the consequences of the first left-sided stroke:
- 10% of patients are fully rehabilitated and return to a completely full-fledged life.
- In 25% of patients, only minor consequences remain, or the disturbances are not permanent, but episodically.
- 40% of those affected by stroke require special care in the future;
- 10% of patients need to stay under constant medical supervision and full care in a special institution.
Work on remediation should be carried out immediately.80% of the maximum possible result is achieved in the first month of rehabilitation. In the next six months it is possible to improve the patient's health by only 20%. If in the first six months after the transfer of ischemic stroke, the patient did not get rid of complications, then, most likely, his condition will not improve.
