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Doctor insights on: Brain Swelling After Stroke

Yes: This virtually always happens.

Yes, but few days: Brain swelling always follows death of brain tissue, and maximizes at about 24-36 hrs, and slowly dissipates over the next several days. Can be a far greater problem in the younger person, and not so severe in the elderly. The first few days are the crucial period. ...Read more

Size of stroke: The amount of swelling, or edema, around a stroke is related to the volume of tissue infarcted. For a small stroke, swelling shouldn't be a problem. For a major hemispheric stroke, swelling can be life threatening and even sometimes require brain surgery to relieve pressure caused by the swelling. ...Read more

Pontine stroke: Most of the oedema should now be resolved ...Read more

Days: When an ischemic stroke occurs, peak of brain swelling starts in 3-4 days after the stroke. It will last for several days and then subside slowly. ...Read more

Brain Edema: Brain usually develops swelling starting 3 days after stroke and peak 5 days and decreases in 7 days . Your brain can swell as a result of injury, illness, or other reasons. Brain swelling, though, can quickly cause serious problems -- including death. It's also usually more difficult to treat, because the bony skull doesn't let the brain to expand... ...Read more

3-5 days: Depending on the size of the initial stroke, 3-5 days is a fair "peak" period. Most danger is in the first week. ...Read more

About 3 weeks : Usually brain swelling subsides within 3 weeks or so. An infarction (non viable brain) from the stroke can cause coma if it is in the brain stem or midbrain. Cerebritis from infection can cause coma as well as demyelination which is relatively rare. Repeat imaging on MRI or CT scan might be helpful in tracking the specific region of the infarct, edema, atrophy and Encephalomalacia, or fluid. ...Read more

Hard to say: The pre-illness health, speed of recognition and early care all play into this status.The physicians at the bedside have a better access to the information needed to answer this question. ...Read more

Usually yes: The question from me is why do you have cerebral edema. Cerebral edema is of two types, vasogenic, leaky blood vessels permitting fluid to move from the vascular beds into the cerebral white matter, and cytotoxic edema, a response to cell death. There is a third type which is mixed cytotoxic/vasogenic, and is seen less frequently. Treatment: steroids/hypertonic salt, mannitol. ...Read more