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Synonym(s): Hypoxia, Anoxia
What 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, basic life functions such as breathing, blood
pressure, and cardiac function are preserved, but there is no consciousness or
response to the world around.
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.
Organizations
Brain Injury Association
105 North Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
publicrelations@biausa.org
http://www.biausa.org/
Tel: 703-236-6000 800-444-6443
Fax: 703-236-6001
National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC)
4200 Forbes Boulevard Suite 202
Lanham, MD 20706-4829
naricinfo@heitechservices.com
http://www.naric.com/
Tel: 301-562-2400 800-346-2742
Fax: 301-562-2401
Head Injury Hotline
600 First Avenue Suite 212
Seattle, WA 98104-2221
brain@headinjury.com
http://www.headinjury.com/
Tel: 206-621-8558
Fax: 206-329-4355
Brain Trauma Foundation
523 East 72nd Street 8th Floor
New York, NY 10021
info@braintrauma.org
http://www.braintrauma.org/
Tel: 212-772-0608
Fax: 212-772-0357
Easter Seals
230 West Monroe Street Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606-4802
info@easter-seals.org
http://www.easter-seals.org/
Tel: 312-726-6200 800-221-6827
Fax: 312-726-1494
Source: National Institutes of Health; National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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