‘Venous Stroke’ or ‘Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis’ is caused by blood clots blocking the veins in the brain. The veins in the brain drain blood from the brain into the heart. When the veins are blocked, the blood cannot drain normally and causes back pressure in the brain leading to all the symptoms. Although venous strokes account for about 1% of all the strokes across all age groups and about 3/4th of all the strokes in people younger than 50 years.
- Pregnancy, puerperium and birth control pill use
- Blood disorders that lead to increased tendency to form blood clots
- Bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis
- Sudden weakness or numbness of face, arm or leg; especially if the numbness is all on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
- New onset seizures
In general, the outcome of venous stroke is better than that of arterial stroke if the stroke is treated on time and the predisposing condition is identified and treated. complete recovery is possible in up to 80% of the patients.