Anthony L. Komaroff Universal Uclick
DEAR DOCTOR K: My father just had a lacunar stroke. Ive never even heard of this. What can you tell me aboutit?
DEAR READER: The most common kind of strokes, called ischemic strokes, occur when an artery supplying oxygen-rich blood to a part of the brain is blocked. This leads to the death of some brain cells. Many strokes are caused by blockages of the largest arteries in thebrain.
A lacunar stroke involves smaller arteries deep in the brain that branch off the large arteries. Because the arteries are smaller, the amount of brain tissue they feed
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DEAR DOCTOR K: My father just had a lacunar stroke. Ive never even heard of this. What can you tell me aboutit?
DEAR READER: The most common kind of strokes, called ischemic strokes, occur when an artery supplying oxygen-rich blood to a part of the brain is blocked. This leads to the death of some brain cells. Many strokes are caused by blockages of the largest arteries in thebrain.
A lacunar stroke involves smaller arteries deep in the brain that branch off the large arteries. Because the arteries are smaller, the amount of brain tissue they feed is smaller than the amount fed by the large arteries. Still, lacunar strokes can cause significantdisability.
The smaller arteries deep in the brain are vulnerable because they branch directly off of a high-pressure main artery. As a result, high blood pressure can directly damage the walls of these arteries. High blood pressure also can damage the walls of larger arteries and help stimulate the growth of plaques of atherosclerosis, which can block bloodflow.
Originally posted here:
With stroke, early treatment vital to recovery - Tue, 02 Jul 2013 PST