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Liu Yan Hao
Neurology
About me
Graduated from Henan University of Chinese Medicine in 2011, majoring in Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine for Brain Diseases, with a master's degree. Since graduation, I have been working in clinical practice in the departments of Brain Diseases, Kidney Diseases, and Rheumatology and Immunology.
Proficient in diseases
Specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, hypertension, dizziness, headache, stroke hemiplegia, kidney disease, rheumatic immune diseases, etc. with a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine.
Voices
Causes of cerebral hemorrhage
The most common cause of cerebral hemorrhage is hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage. Patients with hypertension who do not adequately control their blood pressure, which frequently fluctuates, can lead to hardening of the cerebral vessels. The elasticity of the cerebral vessel walls diminishes, and when the blood pressure rises sharply, it can cause the cerebral vessels to rupture, leading to cerebral hemorrhage. This is the most common cause of cerebral hemorrhage, accounting for over 80%. Another common cause of cerebral hemorrhage is the rupture of cerebral aneurysms, which often leads to subarachnoid hemorrhage. Patients with this condition experience severe headaches, consciousness disturbances, and restlessness. Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a relatively severe medical condition with a high mortality rate. Additionally, some cerebral hemorrhages are caused by trauma, leading to cerebral contusion, skull fractures, subdural hematoma, and epidural hematoma. These causes account for a relatively small proportion of clinical cases.
Does cerebral infarction require long-term medication?
Patients with cerebral infarction need to take medication long term. Generally, patients with cerebral infarction have underlying diseases such as cerebral arteriosclerosis and hyperlipidemia, or hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia. Therefore, cerebral infarction patients need long-term medication to control blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar. Additionally, they should take antiplatelet drugs to prevent new thrombus formation and drugs to combat arteriosclerosis to prevent the worsening of cerebral arteriosclerosis and cerebral vascular stenosis. The focus of treatment is also on preventing other blood vessels from blocking, which could lead to a recurrence or worsening of cerebral infarction. Thus, patients with cerebral infarction need long-term medication and regular check-ups during the medication period, including blood tests and liver and kidney function tests, to monitor for any drug-induced liver or kidney damage. If no damage is apparent, they generally need to continue taking medication long-term. (Please take medication under the guidance of a professional physician.)
How should migraines be treated?
The treatment of migraines is actually quite simple. During an attack, oral pain relievers can be taken to temporarily relieve pain, but it is crucial to first confirm whether it is indeed a migraine attack. This is because some organic cerebrovascular diseases, such as cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage, can also present symptoms of headache. Mistaking these for migraine and taking pain relievers could delay proper treatment. If it is confirmed to be a migraine, then pain relievers can be taken for treatment. Migraines often recur, typically causing unilateral headaches, and visual aura symptoms may appear before an attack. Even without treatment, symptoms usually subside completely within a few hours. It is best to investigate conditions mentioned like cerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage, which are organic changes that can cause similar symptoms. Once diagnosed, the treatment becomes straightforward. Normally, it is important to be aware of and avoid triggers for migraines, such as staying up late, consuming salty pickled vegetables and other foods, red wine, and cheese, as these may trigger migraines. (Please use medications under the guidance of a professional physician and do not medicate blindly.)
What to do if you always have migraines?
Migraine attacks are related to insufficient rest, staying up late, fatigue, or poor sleep, as well as certain foods consumed ordinarily, such as pickled foods and salted vegetables, which contain nitrites. Nitrites can trigger migraine attacks. Other foods like some dairy products and red wine can also easily trigger migraines. If migraines recur frequently, it's important to first identify the causes, such as staying up late or poor sleep. For poor sleep, sedative and sleep aid medications can be taken, and try to avoid staying up late. Also, consider if you frequently consume pickled foods, dairy products, or red wine, and if so, try to correct these habits, which might reduce the frequency of migraine attacks. Furthermore, during a migraine attack, you can take some pain relievers to alleviate the symptoms. (The use of medications should be under the guidance of a doctor.)
Clinical symptoms of cerebral embolism
Patients with cerebral embolism typically exhibit a sudden onset and rapid progression of the condition, often occurring during physical activity and rapidly reaching its peak. Clinically, this can result in immediate and complete paralysis of one side of the body or total aphasia, and in some cases, it can also lead to a swift onset of coma. Additionally, these patients often experience accompanying conditions such as arrhythmias, carotid artery plaque formation, and arteriosclerosis. The common sources of emboli in cerebral embolism are thrombi attached to the heart wall or plaques formed in the carotid artery. Therefore, these patients often have a history of hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, plaque formation in arteries, atrial fibrillation, or coronary artery disease.
Is a brain embolism the same as a cerebral infarction?
Cerebral embolism is a type of cerebral infarction, but not completely identical to cerebral infarction. Cerebral embolism occurs when an embolus from another part of the body outside the brain detaches and blocks a cerebral blood vessel. Cerebral embolism generally has a sudden onset, with a rapid development of symptoms, reaching a peak in a very short time, potentially causing severe conditions such as coma and paralysis of limbs within a short period. Common sources of emboli include arterial plaques in the neck vessels, particularly soft arterial plaques that are prone to detachment, forming an embolus that can obstruct cerebral vessels. Another common source of emboli is the detachment of mural thrombi from the inner walls of the heart, typically seen in patients with atrial fibrillation, where thrombi tend to form on the heart's inner walls and can detach to block cerebral vessels. Treatment includes the use of antiplatelet or blood-activating and stasis-dissolving drugs, as well as medications to stabilize plaques. It is vital to actively treat the primary disease, such as using anti-arrhythmic drugs for patients with atrial fibrillation.
How to relieve a migraine?
When a migraine occurs, one can temporarily take some painkillers for symptomatic treatment, which can quickly alleviate the pain. The prerequisite is to ensure that it is indeed a migraine. Typically, before a migraine starts, there are some precursor symptoms related to vision where one might experience blurred vision, distorted vision, or see wave-like patterns in front of their eyes. The headache symptoms often follow these visual symptoms after a short duration. Migraines can recur, and even without treatment, some may completely resolve within a few hours, which is typical of migraines. The occurrence of a migraine generally does not have a major impact on one's health, so one can take painkillers for symptomatic treatment. Additionally, it is advisable to avoid staying up late and overworking. Foods such as pickled products, cheese, and red wine should also be avoided as much as possible, as they can trigger migraine attacks.
Does a migraine hurt a lot?
Migraine is a severe type of headache, but generally does not last long and usually does not come with symptoms of limb weakness or nausea and vomiting. It often resolves on its own after a few hours, even without treatment. Typical migraine attacks often have some precursory symptoms related to vision changes, such as blurred vision, distorted shapes, or the appearance of water-like ripples; these symptoms are followed shortly by headaches, either on one side or both sides of the head. Migraines do not generally have a major impact on one's health. During an attack, taking ibuprofen sustained-release capsules can help alleviate the pain. Additionally, it is recommended to avoid staying up late and overworking. Certain foods, such as pickled products, salty vegetables, and nitrates, can trigger migraines; some dairy products and red wine can also provoke headaches, so it is best to avoid these foods to prevent migraines.
Precautions for Stroke Patients Using Mannitol
Patients with stroke, if experiencing cerebral hemorrhage, extensive cerebral infarction, or cerebral embolism, can develop cerebral edema. In such cases, it is necessary to use mannitol for dehydration to reduce intracranial pressure. Therefore, it is crucial to strictly determine the appropriate indications. For patients with cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral embolism, or extensive cerebral infarction, the peak period of cerebral edema generally occurs between five to seven days, during which time mannitol should be used to lower intracranial pressure. If the acute phase has passed, then there is no need to use mannitol. For some patients, using mannitol weeks later not only lacks therapeutic effect, it might even worsen the condition. Additionally, when using mannitol, it is important to monitor the patient's renal function. In patients with renal insufficiency, the use of mannitol may exacerbate renal damage, so monitoring changes in renal function is essential. (Please use medication under the guidance of a doctor.)
Auxiliary examinations for cerebral embolism
Patients with cerebral embolism need to undergo a cranial MRI to observe the location of the embolism, the area of brain tissue necrosis, and the age of the lesion, which is helpful in assessing the severity of the disease and prognosis. Additionally, it is necessary to examine the cervical vasculature with Doppler ultrasound to check for the presence of carotid artery plaques, especially soft plaques which are prone to detachment and can form emboli, blocking cerebral vessels and potentially causing recurrence or exacerbation of cerebral embolism. Furthermore, an echocardiogram of the heart is required because another common source of emboli in cerebral embolism is mural thrombi in the heart, particularly in patients with arrhythmias or atrial fibrillation, who are more prone to form mural thrombi. Therefore, patients with cerebral embolism need to have an echocardiogram to check for the presence of mural thrombi. If present, anticoagulant medication is required for treatment. (Please use medications under the guidance of a professional physician.)