What Causes an Occipital Lobe Stroke?
The occipital lobes of the brain help you see. If a stroke happens in this part of the brain, it can change your vision. An occipital lobe stroke can cause partial vision loss, complete blindness, and seeing things that are not really there (visual hallucinations).
What Causes an Occipital Lobe Stroke?
The occipital lobes allow for visuospatial abilities and processing, including:
• Depth perception
• Distance
• Interpretation of colors
• Facial recognition
• Object recognition
• Formation of memories
The occipital lobes’ role in these functions means that a stroke to this area can cause partial vision loss, visual hallucinations, or even total blindness.
Occipital Lobe Stroke Risk Factors
Occipital strokes are linked to a number of risk factors, some of which can be reduced through lifestyle changes, medication, and other factors. Others, such as age, cannot.
Most strokes happen in people over the age of 65, with only about 25% occurring in people below 65. For most people, though, the most common cause of strokes are hypertension (high blood pressure) and atherosclerosis (causing blocked arteries). Other common causes include:
• Smoking and/or alcohol and the use of drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine
Occipital Stroke Symptoms
Occipital strokes typically affect vision, although symptoms affecting the eyes are common with other types of TIAs and strokes, too. These can range from blurred vision to total blindness in one or both eyes or a specific change like an inability to recognize faces.
An occipital stroke may also cause common symptoms of stroke, including:
• A sudden severe headache or dizziness
• Seizure
• Changes in mental status or responsiveness, like confusion
• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech, called aphasia
• Loss of motor function (movement) on one side of the body
• Loss of feeling on one side of the body
How Occipital Stroke Affects Vision
An occipital lobe stroke can cause visual changes. If you have a stroke in this part of your brain, you may experience partial vision loss, complete blindness, and seeing things that are not really there (visual hallucinations). This is called “cortical blindness.” It means the vision loss was caused by damage to the cortex of the brain.
Some stroke survivors know that they cannot see, but others do not. Some people are not aware of their blindness and experience visual hallucinations. The is called Anton syndrome or Balint syndrome.
Some occipital stroke survivors have a condition called visual anosognosia. The condition means that the brain ignores one side of the person’s vision.
Visual Illusions
An occipital stroke can lead to visual illusions. People may have double vision when there’s only one object in view, or their vision can be monochromatic (all colors are the same).
People who have strokes also may have difficulty in identifying the correct size, shape, and weight of objects, even though they can see them. This feature can become important during post-stroke therapy and in avoiding harms, such as falls, during recovery.
Inability to Read
Some people who experience an occipital stroke may develop alexia, an inability to read. The deficit doesn’t seem to extend to writing ability, though. In this case, it’s called alexia without agraphia.
People with this type of “word blindness” may even be able to spell words and recognize individual letters, but they can’t read them. In some cases, they can’t read the words they just wrote since their ability to see and write wasn’t affected but their alexia remains.
Remedial therapy, including computer-based techniques, may help to restore some reading ability, but there is no cure at this time.
Treatment for Occipital Lobe Stroke
Occipital stroke treatment will vary depending on a number of factors, including:
• Age and overall health
• Specific type of stroke (a blockage or bleed) and its location, as with tissue plasminogen activator tPA used to break up a clot
• Response to initial stroke treatments when contemplating therapy, rehabilitation, and long-term medication use
• Complications, if any, from the occipital stroke
Healthcare providers caring for people who have visual impairment after an occipital stroke will choose specific methods designed to help restore function or, where necessary, help them to adapt to new limitations.
Recovering from an Occipital Stroke
Each person’s recovery from an occipital stroke will be different, depending on the extent of the stroke damage and other factors. That said, vision changes are common, with some 70% of people diagnosed with a stroke having some type of eye movement disorder.
Recovery may involve a wide range of options, from balance and gait exercises for preventing falls, to specific eye therapies like vision restoration therapy or head posture exercises. Healthcare providers also will monitor underlying conditions that may have contributed to the stroke, like high blood pressure or diabetes.
How long recovery takes, and how complete a recovery is achieved, also depends on individual circumstances. Research suggests that focused rehabilitation care within three to six months of a stroke can lead to maximum recovery and improved outcomes.
Outlook for Stroke and Recovery
A comprehensive study of 668 people who experienced strokes at ages younger than 65 followed their progress for a year. At the end of 12 months, 70% had little or no disability and 57% of those with jobs had returned to work. Most had access to rehabilitative care for at least three months, but they still reported depression symptoms and impacts to quality of life.
Conclusion
The occipital lobes of the brain help you see. If a stroke happens in this part of the brain, it can change your vision. An occipital lobe stroke can cause partial vision loss, complete blindness, and seeing things that are not really there (visual hallucinations). It’s important to know that sudden, intense vision changes can be a sign that you’re having a stroke. If you suddenly cannot see or are seeing unusual things, seek medical care right away.
FAQs
Q: What causes an occipital lobe stroke?
A: The occipital lobes allow for visuospatial abilities and processing, including depth perception, distance, interpretation of colors, facial recognition, object recognition, and formation of memories.
Q: What are the risk factors for an occipital lobe stroke?
A: Occipital strokes are linked to a number of risk factors, including age, hypertension, atherosclerosis, smoking, and the use of drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
Q: What are the symptoms of an occipital lobe stroke?
A: Occipital strokes typically affect vision, although symptoms affecting the eyes are common with other types of TIAs and strokes, too. These can range from blurred vision to total blindness in one or both eyes or a specific change like an inability to recognize faces.
Q: How does an occipital stroke affect vision?
A: An occipital lobe stroke can cause visual changes, including partial vision loss, complete blindness, and seeing things that are not really there (visual hallucinations).
