What are the signs and symptoms of posterior cerebral artery PCA stroke?

Patients with posterior cerebral artery (PCA) infarcts present for neurologic evaluation with symptoms including the following:

Acute vision loss.
Confusion.
New onset posterior cranium headache.
Paresthesias.
Limb weakness.
Dizziness.
Nausea.
Memory loss.

What are the symptoms of posterior cerebral stroke?

What causes posterior cerebral stroke?

The most common causes of PCA strokes include atherosclerosis, small artery disease and embolism 5.

What happens when the posterior communicating artery is blocked?

This blockage keeps blood from reaching its destination in the brain, resulting in a loss of function in the affected region. Strokes can happen when a blood clot gets lodged in an artery, becomes blocked from disease, or if a blood vessel bleeds.

What are the major symptoms a person will display who has had a PCA stroke?

What happens if the posterior cerebral artery is damaged?

Symptoms of posterior cerebral artery stroke include contralateral homonymous hemianopia (due to occipital infarction), hemisensory loss (due to thalamic infarction) and hemi-body pain (usually burning in nature and due to thalamic infarction) 3. If bilateral, often there is reduced visual-motor coordination 3.

How is posterior circulation stroke diagnosed?

HINTS Testing. HINTS testing is a three-part examination that consists of head impulse testing, nystagmus assessment, and test of skew. This test is the gold standard for diagnosis of posterior circulation strokes, as its sensitivity is higher than any imaging modality in the first 24-48 hours after symptom onset.

Can you recover from a posterior Stroke?

Mortality associated with isolated posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke is low; therefore, the prognosis is generally good. Visual field deficits improve to varying degrees; however, they may be permanent and associated with morbidity.

How common is PCA stroke?

The incidence of PCA strokes can be estimated between 5% to 10%. [1] Some studies include only pure PCA. One study shows that pure PCA strokes account for 232 (6.1%) cases of stroke (n = 3808).

What neurological signs would you expect from a posterior communicating artery aneurysm?

While most unruptured PCOM aneurysms are asymptomatic, when symptoms do occur, clinical manifestations typically include severe headache (HA), visual acuity loss, and cranial nerve deficit.

Which part of the body affects more commonly in PCA syndrome?

PCA strokes can restrict the blood supply of multiple brain regions, including the occipital lobe, the inferomedial temporal lobe, a large portion of the thalamus, and the upper brainstem and midbrain.