Medical Questions » Brain Questions » Question No. 165
| Question: | I must criticise you for sayinq that virtually no improvement occur one year after a stroke. My stroke occurred as the result of a haemorrhaqe from a blow to the head, and I had siqnificant improvement between twelve and eighteen months after the stroke. Please do not discourage people from having further rehabilitation at this stage. |
| Answer: | As the saying goes, there are strokes and there are strokes.
The vast majority of strokes (technically known as cerebrovascular accidents) occur in older people and are caused by a blockage to an artery which causes part of the brain to lose its blood supply. That part of the brain then dies, and is unable to repair itself. The brain tissue around the area affected by the stroke becomes inflamed and swollen as a result of the nearby injury, but can recover over a few weeks.
A small percentage of strokes (less than 5%) are caused by a blood vessel (artery or vein) leaking blood into the brain, causing pressure and damage to part of the brain tissue, but not always tissue death. It is really a type of bad bruise to the delicate brain tissue. This type of stroke is slower to recover, but recovery progresses for a much longer period of time, as the blood that has leaked out of the vessel is slowly removed, allowing the brain to start functioning again.
Most strokes occur without a head injury, and for no apparent reason. The type of injur}' ' that you suffered is not usually referred to as a stroke as it was caused by an injury, and resulted in bleeding into the brain, but can be related to the second type of stroke above. This explains why you had a longer period of recovery than the majority of people who suffer from this most distressing, and often disabling, condition. |
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