Mapping the Natural History of Parenychymal and Cerebral Perfusion Changes in Acute Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Strokes

Mapping the Natural History of Parenychymal and Cerebral Perfusion Changes in Acute Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Strokes Using Cranial Ultrasound and Continuous Trans-Cranial Doppler

Study using ultrasound of the brain as a diagnostic tool to differentiate between ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. Correlation of brain perfusion and size of stroke in relation to systemic hemodynamic targets will be assessed on serial scans.

To explore the correlation of brain parenchyma lesions changes and cerebral perfusion parameters as measured by cranial ultrasound transcranial Doppler to patient's blood pressure in a continuous fashion and correlate these to clinical and radiological features of cerebral perfusion. This study will lead to answering clinical management questions like is accurate diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke possible that could be applied to the field evaluation of stroke patients, optimum blood pressure targets for different subsets of population studied ( multifocal disease, collateralized circulation etc), course of fluctuations in cerebral blood flow in response to systemic blood pressure changes or presence of persistent embolic signals in patients with presumed cardio-embolic strokes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• All adult patients over the age of 18 who present to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, get evaluated in the Emergency Department and /or admitted to inpatient/Intensive Care Unit and received any neuroimaging ordered by clinical team (head) (CT) (computerized tomography or Magnetic Resonance Imaging) (MRI) with diagnosis of acute ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes or stroke mimic or suspicion of intracranial pathology

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with Age < 18
• Incarcerate and Pregnant patients
• Penetrating cranial/head trauma or scalp wound