Cerebral hypoxia occurs when there is not enough oxygen getting to the brain. The brain needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to function.
Cerebral hypoxia affects the largest parts of the brain, called the cerebral hemispheres. However, the term is often used to refer to a lack of oxygen supply to the entire brain.
Hypoxic encephalopathy; Anoxic encephalopathy
In cerebral hypoxia, sometimes only the oxygen supply is interrupted. This can be caused by:
In other cases, both oxygen and nutrient supply are stopped, caused by:
Brain cells are very sensitive to a lack of oxygen. Some brain cells start dying less than 5 minutes after their oxygen supply disappears. As a result, brain hypoxia can rapidly cause severe brain damage or death.
Symptoms of mild cerebral hypoxia include:
Symptoms of severe cerebral hypoxia include:
Cerebral hypoxia is an emergency condition that needs to be treated right away. The sooner the oxygen supply is restored to the brain, the lower the risk for severe brain damage and death.
Treatment depends on the cause of the hypoxia. Basic life support is most important. Treatment involves:
Sometimes a person with cerebral hypoxia is cooled to slow down the activity of the brain cells and decrease their need for oxygen. However, the benefit of this treatment has not been firmly established.
The outlook depends on the extent of the brain injury. This is determined by how long the brain lacked oxygen, and whether nutrition to the brain was also affected.
If the brain lacked oxygen for only a brief period, a coma may be reversible and the person may have a full or partial return of function. Some people recover many functions, but have abnormal movements, such as twitching or jerking, called myoclonus. Seizures may sometimes occur, and may be continuous (status epilepticus).
Most people who make a full recovery were only briefly unconscious. The longer a person is unconscious, the higher the risk for death or brain death, and the lower the chances of recovery.
Complications of cerebral hypoxia include a prolonged vegetative state. This means the person may have basic life functions, such as breathing, blood pressure, sleep-wake cycle, and eye opening, but the person is not alert and does not respond to their surroundings. Such people usually die within a year, although some may survive longer.
Length of survival depends partly on how much care is taken to prevent other problems. Major complications may include:
Cerebral hypoxia is a medical emergency. Call 911 or the local emergency number immediately if someone is losing consciousness or has other symptoms of cerebral hypoxia.
Prevention depends on the specific cause of hypoxia. Unfortunately, hypoxia is usually unexpected. This makes the condition somewhat difficult to prevent.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be lifesaving, especially when it is started right away.
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Lumb AB. Hypoxia. In: Lumb AB, ed. Nunn's Applied Respiratory Physiology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2017:chap 22.