LOS ANGELES -- New England Patriots linebacker Tedy
Bruschi's symptoms following his stroke indicate it may have been
caused by a torn blood vessel wall, possibly in his neck, a stroke
expert in Los Angeles said late Thursday.
Strokes of that type can be caused by traumatic injury like
those suffered while playing football, said Dr. David Liebeskind,
associate neurology director of the UCLA Stroke Center. Strokes can
come up to several days after such an injury, he said.
Bruschi played in his first Pro Bowl, in Honolulu, on Sunday. He
experienced temporary numbness, blurred vision and headaches
Wednesday night.
Liebeskind said Bruschi's reported state of health indicated he
had a good chance of recovery.
"Based on the fact that he's walking and talking, in a
31-year-old, it sounds like he could be able to play" football
again, the doctor told The Associated Press. "A lot of people who
have strokes while young tend to have no effects later. ... But
things could change quickly. If he happens to have some numbness
that persists, that may affect his playing."
Liebeskind said blood vessel dissections are the cause of
one-fifth of strokes among young people, but he emphasized that a
battery of tests performed while Bruschi was hospitalized at
Massachusetts General Hospital will determine the actual diagnosis.
If the stroke was caused by a blood vessel dissection, it would
be treated with blood-thinning drugs for three to six months.
"As long as ongoing imaging shows there's no worsening ... then
basically the blood thinners are withdrawn," Liebeskind said.