When brain tissue is damaged because of blood vessels in the brain getting clogged up, it’s called a cerebral infarction, or stroke. It’s easier to get a grasp of the causes of cerebral infarction if you think of them as roads and vehicles.
Let’s assume that the flow of traffic represents blood flow in the brain. First, imagine a car speeding down the highway. It crashes into a construction zone, causing traffic congestion afterward. In this scenario, the construction zone represents arteriosclerosis, and the colliding car is the rupture of the atheroma plaque.
Second, imagine a drone flying too low over an uncongested highway.
It collides with a truck, causing the truck to slam the brakes. This leads to a chain reaction of collisions and backed up traffic. In this case, the drone represents thrombosis, or a blood clot.
Even if someone is diagnosed with the same cerebral infarction, the treatment can be completely different, depending on the root cause.
clogged - blocked or filled with something
think of something - to produce a new idea or plan
speed down the highway - to drive fast or accelerate while traveling on a highway
backed up traffic - the vehicles have to wait in a long line because there are too many of them
뇌혈관이 막혀 뇌조직이 손상되는 것을 뇌경색 또는 뇌졸중이라고 부른다. 뇌경색이 발생하는 원인은 도로와 자동차의 비유로 생각하면 쉽게 이해할 수 있다.
교통 흐름이 뇌 혈류라고 가정해 보자. 먼저 고속도로를 과속으로 달리는 자동차가 공사 지점에 충돌하여 이후 교통 체증이 발생하였다. 이 시나리오에서 공사 지점은 죽상경화증을, 충돌한 자동차는 죽상경화반 파열을 의미한다.
둘째, 혼잡하지 않은 고속도로 상공을 너무 낮게 비행하는 드론을 상상해 보자.
이 드론이 트럭과 충돌하여 트럭이 급브레이크를 밟게 된다. 이는 연쇄적인 충돌과 차량 정체로 이어진다. 이 경우 드론은 혈전으로 인한 혈전증을 의미한다.
같은 뇌경색 진단을 받았더라도 근본 원인에 따라 치료법이 완전히 달라질 수 있다.
- The drain got clogged up because of the food waste. / Your arteries will get clogged up if you keep eating like that.
- Using your brakes for no reason can cause traffic congestion. / Even a minor accident can cause traffic congestion.
- I slammed the brakes because I saw something in the road. / I had to slam the brakes bo avoid the pedestrian.
A: Cerebral infarction is really a dangerous condition.
B: That’s right. Because it can damages brain tissue.
A: Conditions like hypertension or diabetes increase the risk of cerebral infarction, right?
B: That’s what I heard.
A: I’ll have to pay closer attention to my vascular health.
B: Yes, it’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
