Microvascular Ischemic Disease Treatment
The most common type of ischemic stroke (ischemic cerebral infarction) occurs when blood flow to one or both sides of the brain is blocked. The blockage causes damage to the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the brain. The damaged arteries cause a drop in pressure inside the skull, which results in a temporary loss of consciousness and sometimes death due to bleeding from other parts of the body into the affected area.
There are two types of ischemia: subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and intracranial hemorrhage (IC). SAH occurs when blood flows out of the brain through tiny holes in the skull called cerebral aneurysms. IC occurs when blood leaks into the brain from a hole in the skull called a bleed.
Bleeds may occur anywhere in the brain, but they are usually found near the surface of the brain where there is less blood flow.
Symptoms of SAH include headache, confusion, dizziness, numbness or weakness on one side of your face or arm, trouble speaking or understanding what someone says to you and difficulty seeing. Symptoms of IC include problems with vision and balance.
Also read: What is Endometriosis
Stroke can also occur in the elderly due to hemorrhagic transformation. This means that a stroke occurs, followed by bleeding inside or outside of the brain. In some cases, bleeding from an artery inside the skull causes more damage than the original ischemia.
Stroke can also be caused by hypertensive encephalopathy, which is a sudden increase in blood pressure in the brain due to high blood pressure. It can occur in people with very high blood pressure (hypertension). This type of stroke is usually benign and does not cause lasting damage if the high blood pressure can be treated.
Ischemic strokes can also be caused by emboli. An embolus is a clot (thrombus) that breaks off from a vessel in the heart or from the heart itself and travels to the brain.
Sources & references used in this article:
Platelet-mediated erythromelalgic, cerebral, ocular and coronary microvascular ischemic and thrombotic manifestations in patients with essential thrombocythemia … by JJ Michiels, Z Berneman, W Schroyens, PJ Koudstaal… – Platelets, 2006 – Taylor & Francis
Blood metabolomic fingerprint is distinct in healthy coronary and in stenosing or microvascular ischemic heart disease by M Deidda, C Piras, CC Dessalvi, D Congia… – Journal of Translational …, 2017 – Springer
… as a cause of chest, back, and upper abdominal pain in essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera is due to microvascular ischemic thrombosis rather than to … by J Michiels, Z Berneman, W Schroyens, G Krestin – Annals of hematology, 2002 – Springer
Ischemia‐reperfusion: mechanisms of microvascular dysfunction and the influence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease by DN Granger – Microcirculation, 1999 – Wiley Online Library
Abnormalities of retinal microvascular structure and risk of mortality from ischemic heart disease and stroke by N Witt, TY Wong, AD Hughes, N Chaturvedi… – …, 2006 – Am Heart Assoc
Microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes by MJ Fowler – Clinical diabetes, 2008 – Am Diabetes Assoc
Tubulointerstitial disease: role of ischemia and microvascular disease by T Nakagawa, DH Kang, R Ohashi, S Suga… – Current opinion in …, 2003 – journals.lww.com
Microvascular changes during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. by GJ Del Zoppo – Cerebrovascular and brain metabolism reviews, 1994 – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Role of the microvascular endothelium in progressive renal disease by DH Kang, J Kanellis, C Hugo, L Truong… – Journal of the …, 2002 – Am Soc Nephrol
