The Link Between Sleep and Stroke Links by the in the University of Cambridge - Research Paper Example

A stroke is a serious, life threatening health condition that occur when blood flow to the part of a brain is interrupted or cutoff. The blood vessels called the arteries are the ones that carry the blood to the brain. This blood contains important nutrients for the brain cells. The blood may be interrupted or may be stopped to flow through an artery because the artery is blocked (ischaemic stroke) or has busted (haemorrhagic stroke).The brain cells die if they do not receive enough oxygen or nutrients (Meschia 3-4). The area of the brain that becomes damaged is called cerebral infarct. As soon the stroke starts, the brain cells die shortly. However, if the blood supply is not cut off, some of the brain cells can last a few hours longer. Moreover, if the blood supply is returned in minutes or hours after the stroke, some of the cells can recover and if they do not, they also die (Go et al 28). A stroke is diagnosed by carrying out physical tests and studying the brain images produced during the scan. If a person is suspected to have stroke, a physician carries out various physical tests to determine the cause of it. This paper discusses stroke’s causes, and effects. Causes There are two main types of stroke, which include ischaemic strokes and haemorrhagic strokes. Both strokes affect the brain differently and also have different causes. Cause 1: Ischaemic strokes These types of strokes are the most common types of stroke. They occur when an artery supplying blood rich in oxygen to the brain becomes blocked. Blood clots forms in areas where the arteries have been blocked. For example, atherosclerosis is a disease condition in which fatty substance known as plaque deposits on the inner wall of the arteries. This plaque hardens and narrows the arteries thus limiting blood flow to the tissues and other organs such as brain and heart (Meschia 3-4). Plaque can crack or break open an artery. Blood platelets stick and clump together to the site of the plaque injury to build up blood clots. These clots can fully or partially block an artery. Another possible cause of the ischaemic stroke is atrial fibrillation which is a type of an irregular heartbeat. Atrial fibrillation causes the blood clots in the heart to break up escaping from the heart hence being deposited in the blood vessels supplying the blood to the brain. As one gets older, the arteries can naturally narrow. The risk of ischemic stroke is increased by many medical conditions (Sacco 4). There are things that accelerate the process of getting this stroke which include smoking, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol levels and excessive intake of alcohol. Cause 2: Haemorrhagic strokes Haemorrhagic stroke is also known as cerebral haemorrhages or intracranial haemorrhages. These types of strokes are not as common as ischaemic strokes. A sudden bleeding in the brain causes haemorrhagic stroke. This bleeding makes the brain to swell and an increased pressure is build up in the skull thus busting. The swelling and pressure damage the tissues and the brain cells. High blood pressure is an example of a condition that causes hemorrhagic stroke (Meschia 3-4). It weakens the arteries in the brain making them prone to rupture or split. There are things that increase the risk of high blood pressure which include smoking, obesity, excessive amount of alcohol, lack of exercise and stress. Haemorrhagic strokes can as well occur as a result of rupture of brain aneurysm and badly formed blood vessels in the brain (Connolly et al 1712). Effects Stroke effects vary from one person to another depending on the type, location, severity and the number of strokes. There are both mental and physical effects of stroke. Weakness or paralysis is one effect that may affect one side of the whole body or just a leg or an arm. This leads to problems of balancing and coordinating because the weight of the weak side pulls against the strong side. The other effect is problem when using language where a person may have problem understanding writing or a speech, have problem of thinking the right words to speak or write or have a problem of saying words clearly. Again, a person with stroke may suffer vision and perception problems. The condition also causes cognitive problems which include problems with thinking, attention, memory, mental activities and learning (Go 28-30). Other effects of stroke include swallowing problems, bladder or bowel control problems, quick tiredness, depression, sudden emotions, pain, odd sensations and numbness. Research For more than 2, 400 years ago, Hippocrates, the father of medicine recognized and described stroke as the start of paralysis. During this time, the researchers did not do much about this medical condition because they knew little about its cause. The only therapy they gave was to feed well and take good care of a patient with apoplexy as stroke was commonly known during that time. The rest was to wait for anything to happen to the patient. This happened until when Johann Jacob Wepfer did his research and was able to identify postmortem bleeding signs in the brain of patients who died of apoplexy (Stewart et al 968). Since then, research shows that stroke is caused by cut off flow of blood in the brain. Many more researches have been done concerning treatments, causes, and effects of stroke. The recent research in the University of Cambridge shows that too much sleep increase the risk of stroke. However, other researchers suggest that it is still unclear whether there is link between sleep and stroke links. Works Cited Connolly, E. Sander, et al. "Guidelines for the management of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American heart association/American stroke association." Stroke 43.6 (2012): 1711-1737. http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/43/6/1711.full Go, Alan S., et al. "Heart disease and stroke statistics--2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association." Circulation 129.3 (2014): e28. https://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2013/12/18/01.cir.0000441139.02102.80 Meschia, James et al "Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke. " Stroke. 2014;45:3754-3832. DOI: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000046. http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/45/12/3754.full.pdf Sacco, Ralph L et al. Risk Factors – Stroke. American Heart Association. 1997; 28: 1507-1517. doi: 10.1161/01.STR.28.7.1507 http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/28/7/1507.full Stewart, Judith A., et al. "Ethnic differences in incidence of stroke: prospective study with stroke register." Bmj 318.7189 (1999): 967-971. http://www.bmj.com/content/318/7189/967 Read More