Descriptive Essay on Stroke

This descriptive essay provides an in-depth understanding of stroke, including its causes, symptoms, and effects on the body. It explores the physiological changes that occur during a stroke and the impact on various body systems. The essay also discusses nursing care and rehabilitation for stroke patients. A must-read for anyone seeking comprehensive knowledge about stroke.

Programme Name
Module Title
Descriptive Essay on one common physiological
condition
Topic: Stroke
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Descriptive Essay on Stroke
1. Introduction
A stroke is a sudden loss of function of brain. It is a medical
outcome that seriously affects the brain. A person is attacked
by stroke when flow of blood to a part of the brain is either
blocked or reduced significantly. AS a result the brain tissues
are deprived of oxygen. Within a short time, the brain cells die
due to the absence of supply of oxygen. Most studies have
concurred that the lack of supply of oxygen in the brain is
because of the obstruction in the flow of blood.
2. Cause of Stroke
A stroke can happen suddenly, or gradually, where bleeding or
blocking are the two main causes. One of the types of stroke
is a cerebral haemorrhage. This is an artery rupture. It can be
caused by an injury or slow bleeding (perhaps due to an
aneurysm) that causes bleeding in or around the brain.
Cerebral thrombosis/embolism is due to a blood clot, plaque or
embolism; perhaps from another part of the body that causes
blood vessel blockage in the brain (Skolarus et al., 2014).
There is a possibility to have a 'silent stroke' that goes
unnoticed; for most people, however, the effects of this stroke
may lead to serious consequences. But the stoke victims get
warning signals beforehand and if precautions are taken at
the appropriate time, the stroke can be avoided.

Strokes are of different types. The most common type is
ischemic strokes. This is caused due to the blockage or
disruption of the artery that feeds the brain , thereby reducing
flow of blood (ischemia). Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a
mini type of stroke (Fischer et al., 2010) that occurs when a
blood clot in the artery blocks the artery for less than ten
minutes. Thrombotic strokes occur due to a blood clot
(thrombus) in one of the arteries that supply blood to the
brain.
Embolic strokes happen due to clot (embolus) that formed in
the arteries of the heart or neck. This happens when parts of
the arteries are affected by a common condition that is
characterized by thickening of blood vessels due to a build-up
of fat deposits with a high cholesterol level (Wang et al.,
2013). Clots are being carried into the bloodstream and block
the blood vessels that are connected to the brain. Clots also
cause flutter causing an abnormal heartbeat that is usually
fast and irregular. Low blood flow (systemic hypo-perfusion)
occurs when the heart pump system does not function and
very little blood can reach the brain. This is the mechanism
how a heart attack can lead to a stroke. When a person is
affected by stroke,, most of the activities associated with the
affected part of the brain, such as speech or body movement
do not function. (Osmani, Durrani and Ara, 2010).
3. Symptoms

The following early symptoms can lead to a stroke such as
suddenly developed weakness, numbness (paralytic feeling in
arm, leg or face especially on one side of the body),
(Lecouturier et al., 2010) speech loss or problems in speaking
or understanding anything, dizziness, sudden vision loss,
especially in one eye, severe headache with no apparent
cause, and lack of balance or coordination of body parts (RCP
London, 2019). The stroke is more common to women than
men and it is more among people above 50 years (Beal,
2010).
4. A physiological condition during the stroke
The effect of a stroke depends on the area of the brain that is
affected, the amount of damage to the supply of blood and
the degree of collateral (side branches) blood supply. In cases
of some strokes (including TIAs) only a short period of muscle
weakness is noticed; but many strokes cause paralysis along
one side of the body (hemiplegia), problems in balance, loss of
understanding, changes in personality and problems of
communication. Perceptual and visual problems can occur.
Severe strokes affect eating and breathing, lead to
unconsciousness and even death. There can be significant
psychological problems due to adaptation to the inability and
changes that a stroke can cause (Langhorne et al., 2010).

Various aspects of physiology, in particular, body
temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation and
blood glucose can be changed after an ischemic stroke and
intracerebral bleeding. In general, blood pressure and
temperature rise abnormally after a stroke before they come
back to normalcy. Blood glucose and oxygen levels can be
abnormal in humans, but there is no set pattern. Various
aspects of these physiological changes remain unclear,
including their key determinants like an actual effect on the
prosthesis, whether these effects are adaptive or not, or the
effects are peculiar to certain subgroups (lacunar stroke).
5. Anatomy and Physiology
Immediate medical attention is required when a person is
attached by stroke otherwise it is potentially fatal and affect
various parts of the body as an after-effect of the event.
Effect on respiratory system
Damage to the part of the brain that controls the function of
eating and swallowing can affect these functions. This is called
dysphagia. It is a common after-effect of a stroke but it is
observed that this disorder improves over time. If the muscles
in the throat, tongue, or mouth cannot feed food through the
esophagus, food and fluid can enter the airways and nestle in
the lungs. This creates other problems such as infection and
pneumonia. If a stroke happens in the brainstem, where the
vital functions of your body - such as breathing, heartbeat and

body temperature - are checked, it can also cause breathing
problems. This type of stroke is very fatal and it may lead to
coma or death.
Effect on nervous system
The nervous system consists of the brain as the central unit
with the spinal cord and a series of networked nerves spread
across the body. The purpose of nervous system is to send
signals back and forth from different parts of body to the
brain. When the brain is damaged, this system also does not
function properly and the messages are not received properly
either by the brain or the different parts of the body (Siegel et
al., 2016).
The person may feel abnormal pain for any of the activities
which were painless before stroke. There may be difficulty in
understanding whether a body is hot or cold.
Problem in eyesight can occur if that part of the brain which
communicates with the eyes is affected. These problems can
lead to vision loss, loss of field of vision and problems in
movement of the eyes. Since the brain is unable to get the
right signals from the eyes the person cannot see objects
properly as brain is not able to process the information
properly.
Footfall is one of the most common form of paralysis that
creates a problem in lifting the front portion of the foot. It can
cause dragging the toes over the floor while attempting to

walk. This is also caused due to damage to nerve cells and
can improve during rehabilitation.
If the front part of the brain is affected, it can cause changes
in movement, logic, intelligence, thinking patterns and
personality traits.
The damage to the right portion of the brain can affect loss of
concentration, memory related problems and problems in
recognizing known faces or objects. It may result in change in
a behavioral patterns such as impulsiveness, depression and
impropriety.
The damage to the left side of brain can affect in
understanding language, speaking, memory related problems,
the problem with reasoning, organization,
mathematical/analytical thinking and can result in other
behavioural changes.
Vascular system
A stroke is often caused by existing circulatory problems that
developed slowly over a long time. These are often due to
high level of cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, smoking
habits and diabetes. It may also be caused by a bleeding, a
hemorrhagic or a blocked blood flow called an ischemic
stroke. A clot usually blocks flow of blood during strokes.
If a person had already a stroke, he or she is at high risk for
occurrence of a second stroke or heart attack. To prevent a
subsequent stroke, the doctor recommends lifestyle changes

such as eating healthy foods and more physical exercise or
activities.
The doctor also recommends means of having better control
over current health issues like high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, or diabetes. If someone is having smoking habit
he is instructed to quit smoking immediately.
Muscular system
A stroke usually has an effect on either the left or right portion
of the brain. The left portion of the brain controls the right
part of the body and the right portion of the brain controls the
left part of the body. If the left portion of the brain is affected
seriously there is a possibility that the person experiences
paralytic condition on the right part of the body and vice
versa.
When messages cannot travel well from the brain to the
muscles of the body, it causes paralysis and muscle
weakness. Weak muscles have problems supporting the body,
which may result in movement and balance problems.
Stroke risk factors
The most common risk factors for stroke are high blood
pressure, high cholesterol or smoking. These risk factors can
be changed by behavioural changes. Other adaptable risk
factors include physical inactivity, obesity and type 2
diabetes.

A stroke is a serious life threatening event that requires an
immediate intervention. If the patient is suspected to have a
stroke, a stroke warning is activated and the doctor is notified
immediately.
Nursing care, treatment and monitoring
Generally people attacked by severe stroke have demostrate
the symptoms of stroke before reaching the hospital. Doctor
called to attend the patient should be able to recognize early
and accurately a stroke based on the symptom of the patient
and trigger an alarm for emergency procedures. Steps taken
by doctors outside the hospital can shorten the overall time of
treatment and thereby improve the patient's prospects for
responding to time-critical treatments (Organised inpatient
(stroke unit) care for stroke, 2013).
Ambulance and Hospital Care
People attended by doctors inside the ambulance with the
sudden occurrence of symptoms of stroke should be observed
for hypoglycaemia with capillary blood glucose (non-diabetic
patient) and for stroke or TIA with a screen based device.
Those persons with persistent neurological symptoms should
be admitted to a hyper-acute heart clinic immediately and
assessed for emergency treatment by a specialist (Robinson
et al., 2011). Patients suspected of having an acute stroke
should receive the images of the brain urgently. Interpretation
of acute stroke imaging for thrombolysis decisions (Campbell

et al., 2015) should only be made by healthcare professionals
who have undergone appropriate training. Patients with
cerebral stroke should immediately have a CT angiogram from
the suspected area of the skull. This should not delay the
application of intravenous thrombolysis. Stroke specified
sequences along with MRI should be performed (Wardlaw et
al., 2014).
Nursing Role
The general role of the Stroke nurse is to facilitate and
support patients who have an intense stroke to get the best
possible care at the proper place at the appropriate time.
Fundamental nursing care includes the level of consciousness,
body temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, breaths, heart
rhythm, blood glucose, oxygen saturation and so on. Medical
attendants assume an important role in planning patient care.
They check and record the vital signs at short intervals and in
the event that they are found irregular, they promptly advise
a specialist.
Most ICU patients are connected to a display that shows
constant display of all important functions such as blood
pressure,, pulse rate and the rhythm (Amakali, 2015). Medical
caretakers do the documentation. Medical attendants embed
a catheter to remove urine from the urinary bladder. A spinal
channel, outside ventricular channel, intracranial pressure
monitoring catheter is transmitted for various purposes. The

nurses pass through a nasogastric tube that is embedded
through the nostril through the throat to the stomach. Now
and again, a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube
(PEG) is carefully embedded with an endoscopic through the
mouth and into the abdomen, leaving the stomach wall so
that fluid can pass. Patients need a ventilator for the smooth
breathing outcome.
Nursing care in Rehabilitation
Evidence-based practice has been introduced into
occupational therapy and physical therapy and other practices
for some time (Harris and Carr, 2016). Rehabilitation is
important because a small improvement in deficiency can
justify the patient’s stay at the rehabilitation centre instead of
staying at home. Such kind of systematic care is not possible
at home and the people are benefited to a great extent
(Kirkevold, 2010). The Success of the rehabilitation depends
on the time of admission, preferably immediately after
discharge from hospital ward. The organs affected due to
stroke particularly the movement of hands and feet,
improvement in speaking difficulty etc. can be slowly cured
during the stay at rehabilitation centre. However everything
depends upon the spread of brain injury, the perpetrator's
perspective of stroke, the skills of the multidisciplinary teams
and the co-operation of family and carers. Rehabilitation

includes different methods of therapy like physical therapy,
speech and language therapy and occupational therapy
(Clarke, 2013).
Rehabilitation nurses
They are nurses specialized in nursing care to improve the
physical and mental conditions of people with disabilities.
Stroke rehabilitation nursing main aim is to facilitate physical
recovery of a person suffered from stroke, help with self-care
in everyday activities, reduce the risk of secondary difficulties
and related effects and ultimately promote a holistic
adaptation to disability with stroke.
Conclusion
The onset of stroke is an unfortunate event for the person
affected by stroke as well as his family members. A person is
compelled to switch off from a busy life-style to complete
dependence within a few minutes. Immediately after being
brought to the medical system, patients encounter a host of
tests, different health care people, and anxious faces as well
as confusion about the type of treatment and services.
Now a day lot of advancement has taken place in the field of
medical science and the advanced treatment methodologies
are the key to save lives of people who would not have
survived in the past. As a result, post-stroke care is more
important than ever before.

The role of nurses and rehabilation nurses is very important in
the post-stroke care of the person. Their main role is to
improve the physical and psychological effects of stroke by
using their expertise, knowledge, education in this field and
training in the latest developments of this field.
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