Stroke—Paralysis

Also called: Hemiplegia, Palsy, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia

Paralysis is the loss of muscle function in part of your body. It happens when something goes wrong with the way messages pass between your brain and muscles. Paralysis can be complete or partial. It can occur on one or both sides of your body. It can also occur in just one area, or it can be widespread. Paralysis of the lower half of your body, including both legs, is called paraplegia. Paralysis of the arms and legs is quadriplegia.

Most paralysis is due to strokes or injuries such as spinal cord injury or a broken neck. Other causes of paralysis include

• Nerve diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Autoimmune diseases such as Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Bell’s palsy, which affects muscles in the face

Polio used to be a cause of paralysis, but polio no longer occurs in the U.S.

• Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Muscle function loss (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Brain attack, CVA

A stroke is a medical emergency. Strokes happen when blood flow to your brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke. The more common kind, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain. The other kind, called hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain. “Mini-strokes” or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), occur when the blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted.

Symptoms of stroke are

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body)
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

If you have any of these symptoms, you must get to a hospital quickly to begin treatment. Acute stroke therapies try to stop a stroke while it is happening by quickly dissolving the blood clot or by stopping the bleeding. Post-stroke rehabilitation helps individuals overcome disabilities that result from stroke damage. Drug therapy with blood thinners is the most common treatment for stroke.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

• EEG (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Preventing stroke (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Stroke (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Stroke – discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)