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What Are the Causes of Massive Strokes?

A stroke occurs when blood flow is prevented from circulating in a part of the brain, which deprives the cells of blood and oxygen and causes them to die. A massive stroke usually results in complete or partial paralysis of one side of the body, impaired or slurred speech, loss of memory and sometimes death. Strokes can be brought on by diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, alcohol or drug usage, head injuries, bacterial infections, and even pregnancy or the use of birth control pills.

  1. Types of Massive Strokes

    • Strokes are generally categorized into one of two groups: an ischemic or a hemorrhagic stroke. An ischemic stroke is the most common and is caused by blood clot formation in an artery of the brain. The blood clots usually form as a result of arterial sclerosis, hardening of the arteries. A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding inside the brain, referred to as a subdural hematoma, and can be a result of chronic high blood pressure, leading to a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. A hemorrhagic stroke may also be caused by inflammation of the cranial blood vessels due to bacterial or viral infections due to meningitis, syphilis, tuberculosis or Lyme disease.

    Marker of Diabetes Mellitus and Stroke

    • A report appearing in the March 2011 issue of the "Journal of the American Society of Nephrology" identified a potential indicator of stroke in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. The hormone vasopressin, which is released from the posterior pituitary, controls vasoconstriction, or the tightening of the muscular walls surrounding blood vessels and heart muscle, resulting in increased blood pressure. Because vasopressin is short-lived, the researchers also investigated a second protein, called copeptin, which is secreted simultaneously from the posterior pituitary and detectable in the blood for much longer periods of time. The study found that an increased level of copeptin led to a 3.5-fold increase in the probability of stroke and could indicate other possible cardiovascular events.

    Obesity and Incidence of Massive Stroke

    • The March 2011 issue of "Obesity Reviews" contained a study that investigated the relationship between an elevated body mass index (BMI), an accepted indicator of obesity, and the frequency of ischemic stroke. The authors sampled health records from 25 Asian-Pacific countries and found that obesity ranged from only 2 percent of the population in India to 58 percent of the American Samoan population. Interestingly, researchers found that the frequency of ischemic stroke ranged from 3 percent among the Indians to 64 percent in the American Samoans. The author concluded that a significant correlation exists between BMI and the incidence of cardiovascular disease, including ischemic stroke.

    Clinical Record Review

    • A clinical review study included in the March 2011 issue of the "Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease" investigated the incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) among hospitalized patients using a Mexican multi-center registry collected from 25 hospitals over three years. The researchers found 2,000 patients that had suffered from CVTs, with a female to male ratio of 5 to 1 and a median age of 31 years. Researchers found that women who had recently delivered comprised 42 percent of the female population, an additional 18 percent used contraceptives and 12 percent were pregnant. For men, the study reported that 67 percent experienced a CVT event in the longitudinal superior sinus of the forehead. The authors concluded that younger individuals had the best prognosis for a full recovery.

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