Mickey121211
New Member
Hello everyone. I have been reading these boards for a while but have not yet had anything substantial to post, so I haven't (sorry). However, I was interested in all of the medical theories regarding this gentleman's unfortunate stroke and thought that I might be able to give some clarity to the subject. I hope some of you may find this interesting, but I will try not to include too many medical facts as to bore the masses.
From reading the news reports, it is likely that this guy suffered either a vertebral artery or carotid artery dissection. These are the four (2 on the left and 2 on the right) arteries that supply all of the blood to the brain. The carotids supply blood to the front of the brain and the vertebrals to the back. This man's symptoms would dictate which side and which artery were affected (weakness, speech difficulty, balance issues, coordination). Typically, a vertebral injury has a much better recovery than a carotid injury.
A dissection occurs when a small tear develops in one of the layers of the wall of a vessel and blood, instead of passing through the normal lumen of the vessel, now also enters a new lumen created by the tear. Typically, blood with still pass to the brain through the true lumen; however, this newly narrowed vessel significantly increases clot formation. These clots may propagate and pass into the brain's circulation causing a stroke usually hours to days after the dissection.
The most interesting thing is the cause of these dissections. I do not have percentages but some of the risk factors are blunt trauma, rapid rotation with flexion/extension of the neck, spinal manipulation (aka chiropactics), ceiling painting, yoga, nose blowing, smoking, high blood pressure, as well as some additional medical conditions, with trauma being the most likely
So while minor trauma can result in a dissection and a subsequent stroke days later, so can a lot of other things. It is impossible for us to say what may have happened to this gentleman during the 3 weeks between riding TOT and having the stroke (ie car accident, strong sneeze) or in the 60 years prior to coming to WDW. Having been on the TOT many times, I cannot say that my neck has ever experienced rotation or hyperflexion, but that's just me. Hopefully, the case can be presented in a way that 12 lay people with absolutely no medical experience can make the appropriate decision.
Sorry for the long medical lesson, like I said just thought some out there would find it interesting.
From reading the news reports, it is likely that this guy suffered either a vertebral artery or carotid artery dissection. These are the four (2 on the left and 2 on the right) arteries that supply all of the blood to the brain. The carotids supply blood to the front of the brain and the vertebrals to the back. This man's symptoms would dictate which side and which artery were affected (weakness, speech difficulty, balance issues, coordination). Typically, a vertebral injury has a much better recovery than a carotid injury.
A dissection occurs when a small tear develops in one of the layers of the wall of a vessel and blood, instead of passing through the normal lumen of the vessel, now also enters a new lumen created by the tear. Typically, blood with still pass to the brain through the true lumen; however, this newly narrowed vessel significantly increases clot formation. These clots may propagate and pass into the brain's circulation causing a stroke usually hours to days after the dissection.
The most interesting thing is the cause of these dissections. I do not have percentages but some of the risk factors are blunt trauma, rapid rotation with flexion/extension of the neck, spinal manipulation (aka chiropactics), ceiling painting, yoga, nose blowing, smoking, high blood pressure, as well as some additional medical conditions, with trauma being the most likely
So while minor trauma can result in a dissection and a subsequent stroke days later, so can a lot of other things. It is impossible for us to say what may have happened to this gentleman during the 3 weeks between riding TOT and having the stroke (ie car accident, strong sneeze) or in the 60 years prior to coming to WDW. Having been on the TOT many times, I cannot say that my neck has ever experienced rotation or hyperflexion, but that's just me. Hopefully, the case can be presented in a way that 12 lay people with absolutely no medical experience can make the appropriate decision.
Sorry for the long medical lesson, like I said just thought some out there would find it interesting.
