The internal carotid arteries supply most of the cerebrum through the anterior circulation.
Correct Answer
True
True. The internal carotid arteries and their branches, the anterior and middle cerebral arteries, form the anterior circulation that supplies most of the cerebral hemispheres. The vertebral and basilar arteries form the posterior circulation.
Category: Cerebral Circulation
Question 2
Hemorrhagic strokes are more common than ischemic strokes.
Correct Answer
False
False. Ischemic strokes make up the large majority of strokes. Hemorrhagic strokes are less common but are more often fatal and disabling.
Category: Stroke Recognition
Question 3
Occlusion of the basilar artery can cause locked-in syndrome, in which the patient remains conscious but can move only the eyes.
Correct Answer
True
True. The basilar artery supplies the brainstem, and a blockage there can paralyze nearly all voluntary muscles while consciousness remains intact. Eye movements and blinking may be the only way the patient can communicate.
Category: Cerebral Circulation
Question 4
A subarachnoid hemorrhage is bleeding directly into the brain tissue.
Correct Answer
False
False. A subarachnoid hemorrhage is bleeding into the space between the arachnoid and pia mater that surrounds the brain, most often from a ruptured aneurysm. Bleeding directly into brain tissue is an intracerebral hemorrhage.
Category: Hemorrhagic Stroke
Question 5
Dizziness and vertigo are stroke symptoms that are often overlooked, which contributes to missed stroke diagnoses.
Correct Answer
True
True. Dizziness and vertigo are among the symptoms most often present when a stroke is missed, especially strokes in the posterior circulation. Checking balance and eyes, as in BE-FAST, helps catch these strokes.
Category: Stroke Recognition
Question 6
Immobility after an acute stroke lowers the patient's risk of venous thromboembolism.
Correct Answer
False
False. Immobility slows venous blood flow, so a patient in the acute phase of a stroke, especially one with leg weakness, is at increased risk of venous thromboembolism. Prevention includes mechanical compression, prophylactic anticoagulation as ordered and early mobility.
Category: Rehabilitation and Safety
Question 7
Occlusion of the anterior cerebral artery causes weakness that affects the leg more than the arm and can cause urinary incontinence.
Correct Answer
True
True. The anterior cerebral artery supplies the medial frontal lobe, including the motor area for the leg, so its occlusion produces contralateral leg weakness, incontinence and personality changes such as flat affect.
Category: Cerebral Circulation
Question 8
When scoring the NIH Stroke Scale, the nurse coaches the patient and records the best of several attempts.
Correct Answer
False
False. The scale is scored on what the patient actually does without coaching, and the first effort is recorded rather than the best one. Consistent scoring lets different examiners track true changes in stroke severity.
Category: Acute Stroke Care
Question 9
A subarachnoid hemorrhage commonly causes neck stiffness and sensitivity to light.
Correct Answer
True
True. Blood in the subarachnoid space irritates the meninges, producing neck stiffness or pain and photophobia, often along with a sudden severe headache, nausea and vomiting.
Category: Hemorrhagic Stroke
Question 10
A transient ischemic attack leaves permanent damage to brain tissue.
Correct Answer
False
False. In a transient ischemic attack the clot dissolves or dislodges on its own, so symptoms resolve and no permanent damage results. It is still a warning sign of a future stroke.
Category: Ischemic Stroke
Question 11
An arteriovenous malformation is a tangle of abnormal connections between arteries and veins that can rupture and bleed.
Correct Answer
True
True. In an arteriovenous malformation, arteries connect directly to veins without a normal capillary bed, and the fragile vessels can rupture and cause a hemorrhagic stroke. Treatment may include surgery, radiosurgery or embolization.
Category: Hemorrhagic Stroke
Question 12
Once a cerebral vessel ruptures, the hematoma reaches its full size immediately and does not expand afterward.
Correct Answer
False
False. A brain hemorrhage often keeps expanding after the initial rupture, so neurologic status can decline quickly. Frequent neurologic checks and serial imaging watch for this growth.
Category: Hemorrhagic Stroke
Question 13
Mechanical thrombectomy can be performed whether or not the patient has also received a thrombolytic.
Correct Answer
True
True. Clot retrieval for a large artery occlusion can follow a thrombolytic or be done alone, for example when the patient is not a candidate for a clot-dissolving drug.
Category: Ischemic Stroke
Question 14
A decompressive craniectomy relieves intracranial pressure by removing part of the brain tissue.
Correct Answer
False
False. A decompressive craniectomy removes part of the skull, not brain tissue, to give a swollen brain room to expand. The bone flap is stored for later replacement.
Category: Intracranial Pressure
Question 15
Seizures are a possible neurologic complication after a stroke.
Correct Answer
True
True. Damaged brain tissue can become a focus of abnormal electrical activity, so seizures can occur after both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, along with cerebral edema and hemorrhagic transformation.
Category: Rehabilitation and Safety
Question 16
A speech-language pathologist on the stroke team evaluates swallowing as well as speech and language.
Correct Answer
True
True. Speech-language pathologists assess and treat dysphagia, aphasia and dysarthria. Their swallow evaluation guides when and what a patient may safely eat and drink.
Category: Rehabilitation and Safety
Question 17
After an ischemic stroke, blood pressure is lowered rapidly to normal levels to protect the brain tissue around the infarct.
Correct Answer
False
False. Blood pressure is often allowed to stay moderately high at first, called permissive hypertension, because the at-risk tissue around the infarct depends on pressure for blood flow. Rapid lowering could extend the stroke.
Category: Acute Stroke Care
Question 18
A stroke in the left cerebral hemisphere causes weakness on the left side of the body.
Correct Answer
False
False. Motor pathways cross to the opposite side, so a left hemisphere stroke causes right-sided weakness or paralysis. Deficits in the face, arm and leg are on the side opposite the brain lesion.
Category: Stroke Recognition
Question 19
Heavy alcohol use and stimulant drugs such as cocaine raise the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
Correct Answer
True
True. Heavy drinking and sympathomimetic drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine raise blood pressure and damage vessels, and they are modifiable risk factors for bleeding in the brain.
Category: Hemorrhagic Stroke
Question 20
Homonymous hemianopsia is the loss of all vision in one eye.
Correct Answer
False
False. Homonymous hemianopsia is loss of the same half of the visual field in both eyes. Patients are taught to turn the head toward the affected side to scan the missing field.
Category: Rehabilitation and Safety