Sen. Johnson's stroke: 'Like a leak in the dike' (from MSNBC)

[democraticinsurgent]

excellent article on the physiology of Senator Johnson's medical condition from MSNBC)

Sen. Johnson's stroke: 'Like a leak in the dike'
NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman on Sen. Tim Johnson's surgery and recovery

MSNBC
By Jane Weaver
Health editor
MSNBC
Updated: 28 minutes ago

Q. It’s reported that Sen. Johnson underwent surgery for a congenital arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. What is that? Did it cause a stroke?

A: He did have a stroke. He had a hemorrhage into his brain and it was caused by this abnormal collection of blood vessels which is known as an arteriovenous malformation. It’s just what the name says — the arteries come into the brain and go from biggest to smallest and abruptly dump blood into this mishmash of veins that really looks like a bunch of tangled rubber bands. The problem is, the pressure in an artery is so much greater than the pressure in a vein, so over time that pressure pounds on the wall of these weird veins and causes them to leak. It’s like having a leak in the dike.

The symptoms the senator showed yesterday were not a result of the AM sitting there all these years. It was a result of the blood leaking into his brain.

Q. It seems like they caught it quickly. Is that a good thing or has the damage already been done?

A: It’s phenomenal. Hats off to the Capitol Hill doctor for recognizing that this was a big deal and getting him to the right center . There is a three-hour magic window because the brain can only be cut off from oxygen for so long. If you can diagnose and treat within three hours the brain has a phenomenal chance of rebounding. If you wait longer, the brain tissue can literally die.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16205413/from/RS.1/

[AX10]

1. K & R!

[Kadie]

2. Thank you.

Great article.

K&R

[tridim]

3. Great news! Now, if only every American had access to a "Capitol Hill doctor"

we'd be in business. Hint hint.

[Gloria]

4. If he was taken ill shortly after noon, and they operated overnight,

then it was more than 3 hours.....if he was on oxygen all that time, would that make a difference??

[TheModernTerrorist]

6. there are things you can do

that would make a difference that don't include surgery. The surgery was to correct the problem and essentially allow him to recover. As long as he was treated within those 3 hours, he should do fine :-)

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Capitol Hill Doctors. Do ya'll get the impression that the only

doctors who seem to be any good all live around Capitol Hill? Hell, I haven't heard one who was involved with a high media exposure case which would reach the status of malpractice.

If Kennedy was shot in DC instead of Dallas, he might have lived. Hell, if Kennedy was in DC instead of Dallas, he wouldn't have been shot at all!

[Hokie]

7. Doubt if JFK would have lived no matter what

A sizable portion of his brain was blown away by the final shot.

[karlrschneider]

9. Yep. Nothing was left to 'repair'...

ks

[Virginia Dare]

8. George Washington University doctors...

same ones that saved Reagan's life. It's in the West End of town.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. I'm marking that one for future reference.

They're doing something very right.

[bobbie]

10. Very true. He was lured to Dallas, by LBJ, for a reason

It was a spider's web.