Cerebral hypoxia, or brain hypoxia, results from a lack of oxygen to the brain. This can happen after diving, drowning, choking and strangulation accidents. Drug overdose, stroke, cardiac arrest or complications during general anesthesia or child birth can also cause it. The prognosis from brain hypoxia depends on how long the brain has been deprived of oxygen, and whether the whole brain or only part of it was lacking oxygen.
No Symptoms
Sometimes, neither the patient nor the doctor suspects cerebral hypoxia. The patient’s brain may not have received enough oxygen for a short period of time due to an asthma attack or low blood pressure, for example, but there may be no clear symptoms of the condition. If there are symptoms, they might include feeling lightheaded or inattentive for a little while. These symptoms typically disappear after the brain gets enough oxygen. Typically, the patient recovers quickly and there are usually no lasting effects of the oxygen shortage.
Cognitive Symptoms
Should the oxygen shortage last a little longer, more symptoms of cerebral hypoxia are typically seen. These include memory loss that may be recovered later on, poor judgment, more serious inattentiveness, hallucinations and poor motor coordination. The patient may also have difficulty learning new information. Many of these symptoms will disappear after a while but some may continue. Those that typically last for a longer period of time include memory and learning difficulties.
Coma and Death
Brain cells begin to die within five minutes after oxygen supply has been cut off. When oxygen supplies have been cut off from the brain, seizures might occur. When this happens, a patient’s eyes stop responding to light. Also, a person’s blood pressure and heart function may remain but the patient falls into a coma and may actually be completely brain dead. In these cases, life support is required for respiration. Eventually, even the person’s heart might stop after struggling to pump more oxygen to the brain for a long period of time.
