Stokes-Adams Attack
Stokes-Adams Attack Causes
Stokes-Adams attack is caused by loss of cardiac output or blood flow to the brain, due to cardiac heart block, asystole, or ventricular fibrillation.
Stokes-Adams Attack Definition
Stokes-Adams Attack, named after two Irish physicians, Robert Adams and William Stokes, is a medical condition characterized by a sudden, transient episode of syncope, occasionally featuring seizures.
Stokes-Adams Attack Diagnosis
Stokes-Adams attacks is diagnosed based on the history of the patient, and the assessment of the fainting attacks. The ECG may help show asystole or ventricular fibrillation during the attacks.
Stokes-Adams Attack Symptoms and Signs
Before an attack, a patient may become pale, his heart rhythm experiences a temporary pause, and unconsciousness or seizure, lasting for approximately thirty seconds, may follow.
Stokes-Adams Attack Treatment
The initial treatment for Stokes-Adam attack can be medical, which involves the use of drugs like isoproterenol, and epinephrine. The definitive treatment however, is surgical, involving the insertion of a pacemaker.