Episode 18. Infarction - When Stroke Attacks the Brain

Описание: In this podcast I discuss the clinical manifestations and management of ischaemic stroke. I also use insightful patient memoirs, such as that of Diane Ackerman titled One Hundred Names for Love, to illustrate the suddenness of stroke, its diverse and occasionally vague manifestations, and it lived experience. I also use such anecdotes as that of Christine Hung-Oak Lee, titled Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember, to show how stroke can manifest with unusual symptoms.

The podcast reviews the mimics of stroke, from fainting and seizures to migraine and acute confusional states of stroke. It also explores the investigations of its causes and risk factors which, apart from hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation, include holes and aneurysms in the heart, and a host of other medical and environmental factors. I specifically explored the poorly recognised stroke risk arising from carotid dissection, a tear in the big arteries of the neck, using the illness memoir of Steven Boorstein titled Different Strokes, who had a freak skiing accident, and of Debra Meyerson titled Identity Theft.

With insights documented by Rob Dunn in his book 'The Man Who Touched His Own Heart', I explore atherosclerosis, explaining how this uniquely human phenomenon developed emerged.
I also reference two historical cases of stroke - those of Joseph Stalin and Woodrow Wilson, to illustrate how stroke and its risk factors may influence political affairs. I also used various patient memoirs to illustrate the investigations and treatments of stroke, amongst which is Chris Bennett's experience of thrombolysis as he narrated in his memoir titled A Stroke of Luck.