The majority of people believe that brain strokes only happen in elderly people, but anybody can have a brain stroke, including adolescents, young children and even newborns. Brain stroke will occur when the blood vessel will be rupturing and this will be, leading to a haemorrhage because they will be restricting the flow of blood to a portion of the brain. The cells and organs in this particular case will be receiving the oxygen and nutrients through the blood, and if they are unable to get the signals from the brain for more than three minutes, the cells of the brain will begin to die. The longer the brain cells will be denying the signals of the blood, they will die.
So, the paediatric stroke in this particular case will be referring to the brain stroke that will be occurring in the individuals less than 18 years of age and this will be including the perinatal strokes which will happen from 28 weeks of pregnancy to 28 days of life and the childhood strokes which will be happening after 28 days of life up to the age of 18 years. To gather the best possible awareness on this topic it is very much important for you to remain in touch with the best possible doctors at the best neurology Hospital for child in Hyderabad so that you can remain very much aware of the basic insights and further you will be able to take the appropriate course of action. Some of the common categories of brain strokes in kids are:
- Ischemic brain stroke: This is the most common category in children, and occurs when a blood clot will be developing and blocks the blood vessel or the clot becomes stuck in the artery of the brain.
- Hemorrhagic brain stroke: This will be very rare in the cases of kids, and further will be happening when the blood vessel in the brain will be bursting and will be leading to the leakage of blood in areas where the flow should not be done. The buildup of pressure in this particular case will disturb the flow of blood to the affected part of the brain.
- Transient attack: This is basically the condition that is referred by the name of a mini brain stroke and will happen when the flow of blood to the brain is temporarily blocked, and typically this will happen for no more than five minutes. All of these symptoms are usually reversible within 24 hours, and this will be based upon a medical emergency, just like a full brain stroke and will be leading to the formation of the clot rather than the haemorrhage.
Some of the most common causes of brain stroke in kids, as suggested by the paediatric neurologist are:
- Due to the cardiac issues, blood disorder or the disorders related to the blood vessel
- A significant number of heart attack-related issues and defects in the heart
- Presence of blood disorders like the sickle cell disease in kids
- Injury to the brain’s blood vessels
- Presence of the clot and associated disorders
- Consistent element of dehydration with genetic conditions
- Presence of a significant number of infections like chickenpox
- Multiple issues during the pregnancy, like gestational diabetes or maternal high blood pressure
- Some of the most common symptoms associated with childhood brain stroke are:
- Consistent episodes of exclusive and excessive sleep
- The presence of using one side of the body consistently
- Being very much weak, numb or facing paralysis on one side of the body
- Difficulty in speaking or understanding the speech
- Facing the problem of double vision or blurred vision
- Dizziness, which will further lead to the loss of balance and coordination
- Various weird headaches, possibly accompanied by vomiting
- Difficulty in chewing the food items
- Loss of memory and trouble with concentration
- Sudden unexpected changes in the mood and behaviour
What are the common details that you need to know about the diagnosis of brain stroke in kids?
- Multiple testing systems will be used in terms of diagnosing the presence of brain stroke in the kids, depending on the symptoms of the kids, and these will include the following:
- A CT scan of the head will be done to find out any kind of sign of a blood clot or brain haemorrhage in the whole process, and generally, this will be accessible and is a very quick test.
- MRI has to be carried out in some of the cases depending on the condition of the patient and further this will be providing the people with opportunity of visualising the structure and blood vessels of the brain which makes it one of the most sensitive tests for diagnosing the brain stroke.
Some of the other CT-related testing can be done to assess the flow of blood through the heart, blood vessels and the brain.
- MRA testing will be done with the motive of checking out how the blood will be flowing through the vessels
- Echo testing has to be carried out to examine the structure of the heart of the kids.
- EEG has been done to check if the kids are consistently facing the problem of seizures.
- Blood tests will be done to find out the presence of any kind of blood-related disease or conditions that will lead to a significant number of blood clots
- Genetic testing will be done with the motive of examining the genetic disorder that is suspected to be the cause of this stroke.
For the best possible treatment options, it is highly recommended for people to remain in touch with the best paediatric haematology oncology hospitals and the neurology doctors so that medical therapy and the interventional neuroradiology will be taken into account very well. Additionally, surgery will be necessary in some cases if the brain stroke is consistently painful, depending on the basic nature and reason of the stroke. So, paediatric brain strokes are very much uncommon, but the imaging treatment in such cases will be very successful in promoting the recovery of the child and further, as parents, you should always focus on learning to recognise the signs and symptoms so that you can treat the medical condition very successfully.