If I have lacunar infarction, will I suffer from hemiplegia? Do I need to clear my blood vessels?

A friend told Huazi that he had been diagnosed with lacunar infarction. What should he do? Does it mean that there is a blood vessel in his brain that is blocked? He is about to suffer from hemiplegia. How can he "unblock" the blood vessel? Huazi told his friend not to worry. Lacunar infarction is different from real cerebral infarction. Most people will not have symptoms, let alone hemiplegia.

Lacunar infarction is a very common phenomenon among middle-aged and elderly people, but for many people, it is not considered a disease and does not require medication to "clear it". Only after identifying the risk factors can they decide whether to use medication.

1. Don’t worry too much about lacunar infarction. In fact, many people are frightened by the last three words of lacunar infarction, “cerebral infarction”, but lacunar infarction (cavitary infarction) is not that serious and is different from real cerebral infarction. Lacunar infarction is the occlusion of small arteries deep in the brain, resulting in an infarction area of ​​several millimeters in size. The brain tissue in the infarction area will liquefy and be absorbed by the body, and eventually a very small gap will remain.

Another theory is that as people age, their brain tissue and blood vessels gradually shrink, and the gap between them increases, which can be seen as lacunar cerebral infarction during imaging examinations. This is an imaging description, not a real disease.

2. Lacunar infarction usually has no symptoms. Many people worry that lacunar infarction will cause hemiplegia. In fact, most lacunar infarctions have no symptoms and will not cause hemiplegia.

Among people over 50 years old, the incidence of laryngeal infarction is more than half. Among people over 80 years old, only a very small number of people have not had laryngeal infarction. However, most people do not feel anything when a laryngeal infarction occurs. They only accidentally discover laryngeal infarction lesions in their brains during physical examinations or other examinations.

This is because most of the lacunar infarctions occur in non-functional areas and will not cause any impact. A few lacunar infarctions that occur in functional areas may cause mild dizziness, memory loss, mild limb weakness and other symptoms, but the symptoms are transient and will return to normal soon.

3. What we really need to be wary of is cerebral infarction. Only when a serious cerebral infarction occurs, the arteries in the brain are blocked, causing a large range of functional area infarction, can it cause limb movement disorders and lead to hemiplegia. However, cerebral infarction does not happen for no reason. It can only be caused by diseases such as atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation.

Atherosclerosis is related to factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking, and obesity; atrial fibrillation is related to various heart diseases such as coronary heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, and hypertensive heart disease. As long as these risk factors and heart diseases are treated with medication and the condition is controlled, cerebral infarction can be prevented.

4. Do lacunar infarctions require medication? Many people are concerned about whether medication should be used to clear blood vessels after lacunar infarctions are discovered. Hua Zi said that whether medication is needed depends on the risk factors and the probability of cerebral infarction. If there are "three highs", atherosclerosis and heart disease, medication is needed; if it is just a simple lacunar infarction without other risk factors, you only need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and no medication is needed.

Everyone should note that if medication is needed, the purpose is to prevent a serious cerebral infarction in the future, not to "dredge" the already blocked cerebral blood vessels. Because brain cells are very fragile, they will die within 6 minutes after a stroke, and once dead, they cannot regenerate.

The cavities seen in imaging examinations are the "holes" left behind after brain cells die and are decomposed and absorbed. The cells and blood vessel structures have been lost, so there is no point in "dredging" them. The drugs used for cavities are "making up for the loss" and preventing serious cerebral infarction from happening in the future.

To sum up, lacunar infarction is different from cerebral infarction. It is very common in the middle-aged and elderly population, usually without symptoms, and will not cause hemiplegia. What we need to be careful about is severe cerebral infarction. People with "three highs", atherosclerosis and heart disease need to use medication under the guidance of a doctor; those who only have lacunar infarction and no other risk factors just need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and do not need to take medication. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.