Brain infarction belongs to which department?

Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
Updated on November 04, 2024
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Brain infarction is usually classified as a neurology disease. Patients with brain infarction often exhibit clear symptoms of headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and significant swallowing dysfunction, leading to coughing while drinking. Some patients may also experience facial nerve paralysis to some extent, manifesting as unclear speech, difficulty speaking, and articulation disorders. When the aforementioned clinical symptoms occur, the possibility of brain infarction is considered high. Performing a cranial MRI scan for patients can help determine the specific location, number, and severity of the infarction. Generally, it is recommended to treat patients with brain infarction during the acute phase with drugs that enhance brain function, nourish the nerves, and promote blood circulation to remove blood stasis, and many patients can achieve satisfactory treatment results. (Specific medications should be used under the guidance of a physician.)

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Causes of Cerebral Infarction

At present, there is no consensus on the specific causes of cerebral infarction. It is mostly seen in patients with underlying diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, where there has not been adequate control of the patient's blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. This can lead to significant increases in blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Over time, this might result in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the patient’s blood vessels. When these plaques break off and enter the bloodstream, they travel with the blood flow and can lodge in the narrow vessels of the brain. This causes blockage of the blood vessel and leads to ischemia, necrosis, softening, and degeneration of the brain tissue in the affected blood supply area, ultimately causing a cerebral infarction.

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Written by Gao Yi Shen
Neurosurgery
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Can the blood vessels in a cerebral infarction be unblocked?

Whether the blood vessels in a cerebral infarction can be reopened is closely related to time. If it is within the hyperacute phase, which means within six hours from the onset of clinical symptoms to hospital admission, the majority of cases can undergo thrombolysis intravenously, or arterial thrombectomy to reopen the blood vessels. However, if the time exceeds this window, reopening is no longer feasible, and forced reopening at this stage can easily lead to the detachment of distal thrombi or cause reperfusion injury, which is more detrimental to the patient's condition. Therefore, it is impossible to reopen the blood vessels during the chronic phase or non-hyperacute phase. If treatment of this vascular occlusion is desired, vascular anastomosis can be considered, though the specific type of anastomosis surgery depends on the patient's specific condition at the time. Thus, the possibility of reopening a blood vessel in a cerebral infarction certainly depends on timing.

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Written by Gao Yi Shen
Neurosurgery
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Premonitory symptoms of cerebral infarction recurrence

The symptoms preceding the recurrence of a cerebral infarction mainly involve observing the symptoms presented during the initial incidence of the stroke. In many cases, the recurrent symptoms are very similar to those initially experienced. For example, if dizziness was a symptom during the previous episode, then dizziness could also be a precursor symptom in a recurrence, with similar nature and intensity of dizziness as before. Additionally, if previous symptoms included limb numbness, weakness, or speech impairment, similar signs might precede a recurrence. Clinically, it is imperative to address these issues before an actual recurrence occurs, such as actively pursuing antiplatelet aggregation therapy, lipid-lowering, and stabilizing plaques, and resorting to surgical treatment if necessary, to better reduce the chances of stroke recurrence.

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Written by Gao Yi Shen
Neurosurgery
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What should be paid attention to in the diet for cerebral infarction?

There are many dietary considerations for patients with cerebral infarction: The first point is to definitely eliminate some unhealthy eating habits, including smoking, drinking alcohol, consuming large amounts of meat, binge eating, sitting for long periods, and not exercising, among other things. Improving these bad habits can greatly help in reducing the recurrence of cerebral infarction. The second point is to adopt a diet low in salt and fat and high in protein. It is essential to avoid greasy and pickled foods on a regular basis to also reduce the recurrence of cerebral infarction. The third point is to eat more green leafy vegetables on a daily basis, especially those that are local and seasonal. If blood sugar levels are stable, increasing the consumption of fruits can also enhance the body's resistance and reduce the recurrence of cerebral infarction.

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Written by Li Qiang
Intensive Care Unit
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The difference between lacunar infarction and cerebral infarction

Lacunar stroke is a type of cerebral infarction and is considered the mildest form within strokes. Generally, the area affected by a lacunar infarction is very small, so if it is a single incident or there are not many lacunar strokes, it usually does not cause any symptoms. Many middle-aged and elderly people over the age of fifty or sixty who undergo routine CT scans during physical examinations exhibit signs of lacunar stroke on their CT images, yet most of them do not present any clinical symptoms. Therefore, lacunar stroke may only affect brain function and result in symptoms such as speech difficulties, slow reactions, weakened muscle strength in the limbs, or lack of coordination when there are numerous occurrences. Cerebral infarction can include strokes that affect larger areas of the brain, which are much more severe than lacunar strokes. These larger strokes are sufficient to cause clinical symptoms, which may include hemiplegia, drooping of the corner of the mouth and drooling, abnormal limb movements, and even fatal events in cases of extensive cerebral infarction. Thus, lacunar stroke, being a type of cerebral infarction, represents the mildest form of stroke.