131. Stroke

Alma's Her husband had a stroke in December and returned home after a 3-day hospitalization. Irritable and argumentative, he has blamed her for his stroke, though she thinkss it was because he stopped taking his blood pressure medicine years ago.

Stroke, also known as CVA, for cerebral vascular accident, occurs when small blood vessels in the brain either rupture (20%), leading to the death of adjacent nerve cells now deprived of oxygen and glucose.

We think of strokes as causing paralysis, usually one-sided, or speech impediments (pronounciation, word-finding difficulties, etc.), but for many, the damaged area involves emotional centers, with consequences that Alma is experiencing first hand.