Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious medical issue that affects how your brain works. You can get a TBI from a hard bump or jolt to your head or if you’re hit with something that penetrates your skull. Traumatic brain injuries are a major cause of death and disability in the U.S. They can cause short-term and long-term medical issues that can affect every part of your life. There are treatments for TBI. More importantly, there are ways to prevent them from happening.

Are TBIs common?

Traumatic brain injury affects thousands of people in the U.S. every year. In 2020, more than 214,000 people needed in-patient care for a TBI. More than 69,000 people died from issues involving traumatic brain injury.

Types of traumatic brain injuries

Traumatic brain injuries may be penetrating or non-penetrating (blunt):

Penetrating TBI: A penetrating TBI is when something pierces your skull, enters your brain tissue and damages a part of your brain. Healthcare providers may call these open TBIs. Penetrating TBIs may happen if you’re hit in the head by a sharp object, like shrapnel, a bullet or a knife.
Blunt TBI: A non-penetrating TBI is when something hits your head hard enough that your brain bounces or twists around inside your skull. Providers may use the terms closed head TBI or blunt TBI for this kind of TBI. Non-penetrating TBIs may happen if you’re in a vehicle accident, take a fall, are hit in the head, injured in an explosion or are injured while playing sports.

Further, healthcare providers classify traumatic brain injuries as being mild, moderate and severe. They may use the term concussion when talking about mild TBI. They typically group moderate and severe TBI together.

Mild TBI: More than 75% of all TBIs are mild. But even mild TBIs may cause significant and long-term issues. People with a mild traumatic brain injury may have trouble returning to their daily routines, including being able to work.
Moderate and severe TBI: Most people with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury can develop significant and long-term health issues.

Symptoms

When to see a doctor

Request an appointment

Complications

Blood clots are a dangerous complication of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Blood clots can lead to stroke.

The risk of stroke from AFib increases as you grow older. Other health conditions also may increase the risk of a stroke due to AFib. These conditions include:

High blood pressure.
Diabetes.
Heart failure.
Some types of heart valve disease.

Blood thinners are commonly prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes in people with atrial fibrillation.

Prevention

Healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of heart disease and may prevent atrial fibrillation (AFib). Here are some basic heart-healthy tips:

Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Don't smoke or use tobacco.
Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Reduce and manage stress.

By Freedmans Health Clinic Staff

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