Stroke case study – Term Paper

Stroke is described as a sudden-onset focal neurological deficit that lasts for 24 hours or more. Sometimes it leads to early death associated with the vascular cause. Some medical conditions emerged from my patient’s medical history. The existing conditions comprised of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, raised red blood cell count, a bleeding condition among others. There was another medical history too that contributed to the stroke condition; birth control pills, blood thinners, illegal drugs and any hormones. Others included the lifestyle of the patient. Things like diet, alcohol consumption, the level of exercise and family history of stroke. The patient developed complications like paralysis or loss of muscle movement, pain, difficulty talking, memory loss, and emotional problems.

Since the patient had an Ischemic stroke or commonly called Transient Ischemic Attack, he was administered with a clot-dissolving medication called tissue plasmogen activator (TPA) into the veins within 4 hours of symptom onset (Sharma ; Meschia, 2013). Also, other medicines like aspirin and clopidogrel were administered to the patient due to unresponsiveness of TPA and other conditions.

Follow-up appointments were done six months and one year after stroke and later once a year. During these appointments, the doctor gets to know whether the patient is making progress. For patients still with difficulty in speaking, a language and speech therapist was brought on board to assist by recommending other treatment methods. In the case of any other complication adequate care was provided and the patient was required to call any of the professional details given by rehabilitation teams; this is to help them receive any assistance needed by if necessary.

Reference

Sharma, P. ; Meschia, J. (2013). Stroke genetics (1st ed.). London: Springer.