Treatment for Stroke

What are Common Treatments for Stroke

If you think you may be having a stroke, seek medical attention immediately. Don't wait, call 911. Immediate treatment is essential to limiting the impact of a stroke.

The type of treatment you can expect for a stroke depends on the type of stroke you've had.^[14] Treatment of ischemic stroke typically relies on drugs to break up clots, while treatment of hemorrhagic stroke is designed to stop bleeding and may involve treatment to increase clotting.^[17] If high blood pressure is the source of hemorrhagic bleeding, medicine will be given to reduce your blood pressure. Don't attempt to treat yourself with aspirin because you could make a hemorrhagic stroke worse. Only your doctor can determine what type of stroke you have had.

Treatment of Ischemic Stroke

Treatment for ischemic stroke is designed to open up blood vessels to allow more blood to get to the parts of the brain that aren't getting enough blood. Typically, this involves treatment to get rid of blood clots. The medicines that might be used include aspirin, warfarin and heparin. Sometimes TPA or tissue plaminogen activator may be used. This is another type of medicine that breaks up clots. It has to be given within a 3-hour time window, however.

Your doctor might decide to perform a procedure to open up clogged arteries. One method, carotid endarterectomy, involves surgically removing plaques that are causing blockage in the arteries of the neck. You may have heard of the second method, angioplasty, which is the use of balloons inside clogged arteries to open them up. Although this method is used less often, your doctor may use it and insert stents to keep the arteries from narrowing in the future. Sometimes stents are inserted without the use of balloon angioplasty first.

Treatment of Hemorrhagic Stroke

Because this type of stroke occurs from blood leaking into the brain, the intent of treatment is to stop bleeding. Drugs to increase clotting are used. This is exactly the opposite of the type of treatment used in ischemic stroke. Drugs that help clotting include:

• Vitamin K

• Platelets

• Plasma – blood from which blood cells and platelets have been removed

• Synthetic products similar to natural proteins that help the blood to clot

Rarely surgery may be performed to remove blood that has leaked into the brain. This is done only in special situations because it can cause additional bleeding.

If bleeding occurs in the covering of the brain, it is often due to an aneurysm. Surgery will be performed to stop the bleeding and drugs are given to relieve headache and control blood pressure. Surgery can involve one of three different approaches. A clip may be placed at the base of the aneurysm to stop leaks. The clip will be left in place permanently. A second approach is to force the aneurysm to clot. This seals off the aneurysm and prevents it from leaking blood. The third method involves surgically removing the aneurysm. This may not be possible if the aneurysm is located deep inside the brain.