Hypoxia
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What is Cerebral Hypoxia?Is there any treatment?What is the prognosis?What research is being done?OrganizationsWhat is Cerebral Hypoxia?
Cerebral hypoxia refers to a condition in which there is a decrease of oxygen supply to the brain even though there is adequate
blood flow. Drowning, strangling, choking, suffocation, cardiac arrest, head trauma, carbon monoxide poisoning, and complications
of general anesthesia can create conditions that can lead to cerebral hypoxia. Symptoms of mild cerebral hypoxia include inattentiveness,
poor judgment, memory loss, and a decrease in motor coordination. Brain cells are extremely sensitive to oxygen deprivation
and can begin to die within five minutes after oxygen supply has been cut off. When hypoxia lasts for longer periods of time,
it can cause coma, seizures, and even brain death. In brain death, there is no measurable activity in the brain, although
cardiovascular function is preserved. Life support is required for respiration.
Is there any treatment?
Treatment depends on the underlying cause of the hypoxia, but basic life-support systems have to be put in place: mechanical
ventilation to secure the airway; fluids, blood products, or medications to support blood pressure and heart rate; and medications
to suppress seizures.
What is the prognosis?
Recovery depends on how long the brain has been deprived of oxygen and how much brain damage has occurred, although carbon
monoxide poisoning can cause brain damage days to weeks after the event. Most people who make a full recovery have only been
briefly unconscious. The longer someone is unconscious, the higher the chances of death or brain death and the lower the chances
of a meaningful recovery. During recovery, psychological and neurological abnormalities such as amnesia, personality regression,
hallucinations, memory loss, and muscle spasms and twitches may appear, persist, and then resolve.
What research is being done?
The NINDS supports and conducts studies aimed at understanding neurological conditions that can damage the brain, such as
cerebral hypoxia. The goals of these studies are to find ways to prevent and treat these conditions.
Select this link
to view a list of studies currently seeking patients.
Organizations
Prepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
NINDS health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by
or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or any other Federal agency. Advice
on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined
that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.
All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated.
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Last updated February 08, 2007
