The Case Study of Greta Balodis: Pathophysiology and Signs of Stroke

The Case Study of Greta Balodis 1
CASE STUDY OF GRETA BALODIS
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The Case Study of Greta Balodis 2
The Case Study of Greta Balodis
Introduction
In the year 2014, an approximated 6.8 million people had an ischemic stroke;
additionally, 3.2 million others were suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke (Doyle, 2016, pp 203).
In the year 2015, 10868 patients in Australia were suffering from the stroke (Doyle, 2016, pp
205). The figure accounts for 6.7% of fatalities that year (Doyle, 2016, pp 207). Greta Balodis is
a 75-year-old widow. One day, when farming, she started having feelings of a headache,
dizziness, and nausea. Additionally, she realizes that her mouth and eyes are drooping towards
the left side. Doctors later found out that she had Cerebral Vascular Accident and Arterial
fibrillation. Her past medical reports show that she has suffered from hypertension. This paper
examines Greta's conditions. Additionally, the article looks at the Pathophysiology, Signs, and
Symptoms of stroke; since Greta Balodis is suffering from the stroke.
Pathophysiology of Stroke
Pathophysiology results from the terms pathology (pathogenesis) and physiology (Zhang,
2014, pp 424). Pathology is the study of the origin of a disease (George and Steinberg, 2015, pp
302). Physiology is the normal functioning of body organs (Rashid and Karamyan, 2018, pp
245). Therefore, Pathophysiology of stroke refers to the disruption of various chemical
pathways. The origin of stroke is a complicated process which scientists have not explained
conclusively. The process involves critical pathways in the system of humans. The paths, mainly
affected are the inflammatory ones (Paquet et al., 2018, pp 610). As such, the body organs
cannot prevent any inflammation. Inflammation usually blocks blood vessels.
Disruption of the oxidative pathway causes the stroke (Yin, Hamblin and Chen, 2014, pp
14). Additionally, the occurrence of imbalance of ions in the intracellular and extracellular

The Case Study of Greta Balodis 3
membrane cases stroke (Yin et al., 2014, pp 16). Other causes include timed progressive brain
cell death, development of growth in the blood vessels and neurological complications (Dirnagl
and Endres, 2014, pp 1514). Specialists have devised two essential modes of prevention and
treatment of stroke. The two methods of stroke prevention include the protection of the nervous
system from any damage, and maintaining the functioning of the Nervous System (Li and
Francisco 2015, pp 192).
Apart from the neurological causes, stroke sets in as a result of disruption of blood
movement in the Central Nervous System (Dirnagy and Endres, 2014, pp 155). There is the
hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke (Berkhemer et al., 2015, pp 12). Hemorrhagic stroke takes
place when the capillaries are transporting blood to cells, bursts causing severe bleeding
(Berkhemer et al., 2015, pp 14). On the other hand, ischemic stroke occurs when the transport of
blood to the brain stops (Paquet et al., 2018, pp 614). The causes of the stoppage of flow of
blood include thrombosis, inflammation of the blood vessels, and cholesterol blockage of the
blood vessels (Caplan, 2014, pp 63). Greta Balodis is suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke due to
the Cerebrovascular Accident.
The complications such as hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels in the blood, arterial
fibrillation, overweight, and smoking of a cigarette lead to stroke (Caplan, 2014, pp 65). The
records of Greta Balodis indicate that she had suffered from hypertension, Cerebral Vascular
Accident, and arterial fibrillation. Hypertension destroys blood channels of the brain (Caplan,
2014, pp 67). Greta Balodis had a history of high blood pressure. Additionally, hypertension
makes the vessels to be weak; thus, increasing the chances of vessel leakage and chances of
bursting. Hypertension leads to the clotting of blood in the arteries transporting blood to the