She was blue in the face and speechless. What Killed Catherine the Great?

Many myths arose around the death of Catherine the Great. There were rumors that she gave up the ghost in the toilet, it was presumed that she had both a cerebral hemorrhage and a gallbladder rupture. Historical sources, however, are for a different reason. What caused the tsarina to fall into a coma on November 16, 1796 and die the next day?

1. Tsarina Catherine II died on November 17, 1796 in Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg. She was 67 years old
2. On November 16, 1796, the tsarina got up at six in the morning, made herself a coffee and sat down at her desk. When she went to the toilet, she fell to the floor without feeling. She wasn’t found until nine. She died the next day
3. Many myths arose around the death of this ruler. However, death from a stroke is most likely
4. Strokes are most common after the age of 65. In developed countries, it is now one of the leading causes of disability and death. What happens in the body when a stroke occurs, what are the symptoms?
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

The tsarina lay “lifeless, rattling like a machine”

On November 16 (according to the Gregorian calendar, November XNUMX), the tsarina got up at six in the morning, made herself a coffee and sat down at her desk. When she went to the toilet, she fell to the floor without feeling. The chamberlain didn’t find her until nine. She was breathing with difficulty, her face turned blue, and she lost her speech. She opened her eyes for a moment, then fell into a coma. She was carried into the bedroom by six people, but they couldn’t lift her onto the bed, so they put her on a mattress on the floor.

In a quarter to four, Dr. Rogerson had a massive cerebral hemorrhage. At half past nine in the evening Katarzyna was lying “lifeless, gurgling like a machine whose movement ceases”, recalled Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski. The next day, «at five, the empress’s breathing became weaker. On several occasions, doctors thought that the last moment had come … The throat was so loud you could hear it in the corridor… Blood was pouring into her face, which turned red and purple ”. At nine o’clock in the evening, Dr. Rogerson announced that the Empress was dying. She stopped breathing at a quarter to ten.

The rest of the text is below the video.

What Happens to the Body When It Has a Stroke?

Stroke, incorrectly called a haemorrhage, most often affects people over the age of 65. It is now one of the leading causes of disability and death in developed countries.

There is a hemorrhagic stroke – caused by intracranial bleeding and ischemic stroke – by closing the lumen of the artery and limiting the blood supply to the brain. Which of them killed the tsarina, we will probably not know.

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Most cases are ischemic stroke (80%). It is caused by a lack of blood flow in the cerebral vessel. The consequence is brain damage due to hypoxia, lack of glucose supply and the collection of metabolic products. The intracerebral artery is closed as a result of a thrombus coming from the heart or from narrowed large intracerebral vessels located in its lumen. The narrowing of the arteries is most often the result of an atherosclerotic process – enlarging atherosclerotic plaques gradually close the lumen of the vessel.

In young people, narrowing of the intracerebral arteries may be caused by a common, but rarely recognized, so-called dissection of the artery wall. It occurs after head, neck and shoulder girdle injuries. Delamination can also occur without a mechanical stimulus.

The most common symptoms of a stroke – call an ambulance urgently

Stenosis diagnosis is based on a neurosonological examination, i.e. ultrasound examination. In addition to large intracerebral arteries, small arteries located directly in the brain can also be closed.

In hemorrhagic stroke, rupture of the atherosclerotic intracerebral vessel leads to extravasation of blood directly to the brain and the formation of an intracerebral hematoma, which compresses the brain and leads to neurological symptoms. A segmentally dilated intracerebral arterial vessel (aneurysm) between the spider veins and the soft dies can rupture and cause the so-called subarachnoid hemorrhage.

The factors that increase the risk of stroke include age, high blood pressure and smoking.

The most common symptoms of a stroke are:

• numbness of the face and limbs (especially half-body anesthesia)

• weakness of the muscles of the limbs (especially paralysis of the half of the body)

• asymmetry of the mouth

• disturbances of consciousness

• difficulty speaking or understanding speech

• visual disturbances in one or two eyes

• trouble walking, dizziness, impaired coordination

• severe headaches

• loss of consciousness

If you find these symptoms, you should urgently call an ambulance. It is very important to reach the hospital as soon as possible because of the possibility of introducing specific treatment, in some patients up to three hours after the onset of clinical symptoms.

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