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Cerebral hypoxia is a lack of oxygen supply to the brain, which can cause severe cognitive and motor impairment or even death. There are four categories of severity, and symptoms vary widely. Causes include drowning, smoke inhalation, stroke, cardiac arrest, low blood pressure, and respiratory muscle paralysis.
Cerebral hypoxia is a medical term that refers to an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain. In a strictly technical sense, the term refers to the lack of oxygen in the outer area of the brain, or cerebral hemisphere. It is generally used, however, to refer to any general lack of oxygen supply to the brain, regardless of where the specific lack is located. Prolonged brain hypoxia kills brain cells as they need oxygen to sustain themselves properly. Long-term hypoxia, therefore, can lead to severe cognitive and motor impairment or even death due to severe brain damage.
There are four main categories of cerebral hypoxia, organized by severity. The first, diffuse hypoxia, refers to a slight decrease in brain function due to decreased oxygen levels. Focal hypoxia refers to a localized decrease in oxygen levels and is often related to a mild stroke or aneurysm. A transient ischemic attack, also known as a mini-stroke, is localized hypoxia that lasts less than 24 hours and causes neurological damage. Massive cerebral infarction occurs when blood flow to different areas of the brain is cut off; this is also called a stroke.
Symptoms of cerebral hypoxia can be physical or neurological in nature and tend to vary widely based on the severity of the oxygen deprivation. In mild cases, individuals tend to demonstrate poor judgment and may be generally inattentive. They may also have mobility difficulties, finding it much more difficult than usual to complete normal actions such as walking and holding on to objects. In particularly severe cases, the individual may go into a coma and become completely numb and unaware of all stimuli. A coma can, in severe cases, be accompanied by a complete loss of breathing.
If severe cases of cerebral hypoxia are not treated immediately, death is likely. In cases where the pulse and blood pressure remain normal but the victim of hypoxia is otherwise unresponsive, complete brain death may have occurred. In such cases, there is no hope of restoring the victim to some semblance of full, normal function.
Brain hypoxia can be caused in many different ways. Some causes are related to external factors such as drowning or excessive inhalation of smoke or carbon monoxide. These can lead to asphyxiation if smooth airflow is not returned quickly. Internal factors that can lead to brain hypoxia include stroke, cardiac arrest, low blood pressure, and respiratory muscle paralysis.
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