Problem: 62 year old Joan Terrier has had, over the past 12 months, some episodes of dizziness and headaches and one episode of weakness affecting one side of her mouth however these resolved by themselves so she never saw a doctor about it. Today she has woken up and been unable to move her left side (hemiplegia), has difficulty speaking (aphasia) and her face "feels funny" and "lopsided". Her husband called the ambulance which transported her to hospital where she was later diagnosed with having had a stroke.
Her medical background includes hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, and atrial fibrillation.
Question 1) Briefly explain the pathophysiology of an ischemic stroke?
Question 2) What might these episode Joan experienced prior to her stroke be?
Question 3) How is atrial fibrillation linked to these neurological conditions? Explain this briefly.
Question 4) What three vital observations would you be most concerned about when looking after Joan? What would these indicate a change of?