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Serene Branson (KCBS) |
I'm sure by now most of us have seen the disturbing video of KCBS correspondent Serene Branson who mysteriously starts to babble during a live shot from Sunday night's Grammy award ceremony. What exactly happened? Because of confidentiality laws we may never know for sure but, like others, I have my theory. Based on 25+ years as a First Responder plus a desire to learn about all things medical, my belief is that she suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack or a mini stroke.
What is a Transient Ischemic Attack?
Simply put, a Transient Ischemic Attack occurs when there is a change in the blood supply to a specific part of the brain. When this occurs, there is a brief neurologic dysfunction which, by definition, last less than 24 hours. In those rare case of an infarct* that last more than 24 hours but less than 72 hours, it is termed as a reversible ischemic neurologic deficit or RIND.
* An infarct is an area of tissue death (necrosis) due to a local lack of oygen caused by obstruction of the tissue's blood supply
You might be asking what causes a TIA. The most common cause is an embolus (pictured at left) that occludes (blocks) an artery in the brain. In most cases this is the result of aterosclerotic plaque which becomes dislodged within one of the carotid arteries or from a thrombus (blood clot) in the heart as a result of an atrial fibrillation (a condition where the heart's two upper chambers beat chaotically and out of sync with the two lower chambers (pictured at bottom, left).
What is the prognosis for a TIA?
Patients diagnosed with a TIA are sometimes said to have received a warning of an approaching stroke. Doctors have learned that if the time period of blood supply impairment lasts more than a few minutes, the nerve cells in that area of the brain die resulting in permanent neurologic deficit. It's estimated that one-third (1/3) of the people who suffer a TIA later have recurrent TIAs and another one-third (1/3) will have a full-blown stroke.
* An infarct is an area of tissue death (necrosis) due to a local lack of oygen caused by obstruction of the tissue's blood supply
Earlier this afternoon, Yahoo.com ran a follow-up article (link below) explaning that the babbling attack experienced by KCBS personality Serene Branson was the result of an aura which is a precursor to a migraine headache. After I read the article, I was curious so I did a little research. According to the article that I found, the aura that Ms. Branson experienced is a "perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a migraine headache." It is interesting to note, however, that it is also a telltale symptom experienced by some persons with epilepsy prior to having a seizure.
ReplyDeleteLink to Yahoo article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110218/ts_yblog_thecutline/tv-reporter-serene-branson-on-her-migraine-induced-grammy-incident