The Early Stroke - Essay Example

Stroke is one of the most common causes of death and the most common disabling neurological disorder (Mathers, 2009). There are a couple of changes that result from an early stroke.

Emotional changes: The most common changes following stroke are depression and anxiety. Depression may be a reaction to the changes that the stroke has caused. Physical changes also result. Sometimes a stroke leaves its survivors with weakened limbs. The patient may experience stiffness or spasticity. This can lead to difficulty with motion, mobility, and range of motion. These changes affect equilibrium, and balance and lead to abnormal walking. Shoulder hand syndrome: 1st stage: begin with tenderness and swelling of the hand and pain leading to limited shoulder and wrist and finger ROM. 2nd stage: a further loss of shoulder and hand ROM, severe edema, and loss of skin elasticity. 3rd stage: demineralization of bone, severe soft tissue deformity, and joint contracture

People who suffer from aphasia may be unable to express a basic idea, such as hunger, or remember a single word, like the names of their children. They may not be able to read a newspaper, or even write their name. Many other changes result from stroke. On the other hand, many factors can affect stroke recovery as a type of stroke, as it seems that ischemic stroke provides a much better ability to recover than the severe type as it destroys the brain cells and have many complications including increased pressure and spasm of blood vessels (Dorhout, 2007). Other factors include the timing of rehabilitation as neural plasticity becomes more effective in 1st 6 months of the lesion, so when we start our rehabilitation early it will provide us with a good prognosis and vice versa (Sabine, 2002). Read More