All types of strokes are dangerous, but few are known to cause acute disability and / or lead to death. Below we describe the most common strokes known to have the potential to cause acute disability and even death.
Brainstem stroke
All nerve impulses from the brain that go to the body must go through the brain stem, which is why brain stem strokes can be more dangerous than spinal cord injuries.
The brain stem also controls almost all important functions, such as breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate, and is the center of brain awareness, which allows us to remain aware of the world around us. Therefore, depending on the severity of the brain stem stroke, a person can become permanently hemiplegic, paralyzed or unconscious.
Bilateral Watershed Stroke
Watershed strokes get their name from effects on parts of the brain commonly referred to as "watershed areas." This section receives blood supply from the far end of the branch to two adjacent blood vessels and requires adequate blood pressure to ensure adequate blood is pumped into that part any time. Because of this, watershed sections on both sides of the brain are at high risk of developing ischemia, or lack of blood flow, when blood pressure is low, which can be caused by extreme dehydration, heart attack, and sepsis (widespread infection).
This stroke causes severe disability because it affects most muscle groups on both sides of the body (shoulder and hip, for example). People with carotid stenosis (blockage of the neck vessels) on both sides of the neck are especially susceptible to this type of stroke.
Hemorrhagic stroke
Hemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain. There are many reasons why someone experiences bleeding in the brain, but some of the most dangerous include:
- Arteriovenous malformation
- Aneurysm ruptures
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Bleeding disorders
- Head trauma injury
- Dural sinus thrombosis
- Brain tumor
Hemorrhagic stroke is extremely dangerous because blood in the brain can sometimes lead to dangerous conditions such as hydrocephalus, increased intracranial pressure, and dangerous blood vessel spasms. If not treated aggressively, this condition can cause severe brain damage, brain herniation, and even death. This is why even small episodes of bleeding in the brain require an emergency evaluation by a neurosurgeon.
Large thrombotic stroke
Thrombotic stroke is caused by a large blood clot, which forms inside, or migrates to, one of the brain's main blood vessels. This large blood clot is very dangerous because it can actually stop blood flowing to the largest and most important blood vessels in the brain.
The so-called "malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) syndrome" is an example of this stroke. In these strokes MCAs are blocked by large blood clots causing large infarction (ie, death) from almost all sides of the brain. The strong swelling that occurs later as a result of a major event causes a rapid increase in brain pressure throughout the brain. Later, this high pressure causes global brain dysfunction, impaired consciousness and very often, brain herniation and death.
Large thrombotic stroke is generally the result of a medical condition in which a person has a tendency to form blood clots in the brain's blood vessels, in the liver, or in blood vessels that carry blood to the brain. These conditions include carotid, spinal cord, or dissection of the basilar artery, and atrial fibrillation.
Unfortunately, the symptoms of this stroke can be deceptive, and can initially appear like dizziness or headache. However, certain strokes have a tendency to cause very specific symptoms. For example, the classic symptom of a hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in the brain) is a sudden headache that is usually described by people as "the worst headache of all life." Large brainstem strokes usually cause double vision or blurring, vertigo, imbalance when walking, and / or nausea and vomiting. Depending on the part of the brain affected, large thrombotic strokes can cause sudden weakness and numbness on one side or the whole body. Large strokes can also cause sudden loss of consciousness. Without having to explain if you, or someone you know, has been affected by these symptoms immediately act quickly and run to the hospital without delay.