What is an embolic stroke? Pat Robertson health struggles explored as prominent televangelist dies aged 93

On June 8, Marion Gordon Robertson, better known as Pat Robertson, passed away at the age of 93. He had multiple professions, starting with being a political influencer to media mogul to a religious leader and broadcaster. While the exact cause of his death remains unknown, back in February 2018, it was reported that Pat Robertson suffered an embolic stroke, but he eventually made a full recovery.

By definition, an embolic stroke is the loss of brain function that happens when blood clots anywhere else other than the human brain, bursts out, and then moves all the way to the brain through bloodstream. As it turns out, when a said clot stays put within an artery, it restricts the blood flow to the brain, thus causing a stroke.

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Pat Robertson spent two days at the hospital following his 2018 stroke

Deemed as one of USA’s most influential televangelists, it was on February 2, 2018, that Pat Robertson showed symptoms of an embolic stroke while he was at his home in Virginia Beach.

Fortunately, he received immediate medical attention at a local stroke specialising hospital because of a family member who paid immediate heed to his health distress. Without wasting any time, he was administered a required dosage of the clot-bursting drug called tPA, which not only saved his life but also helped him make a full recovery.

In fact, within 8 minutes of his stroke, he got back to normalcy - fully awake and responsive while also being able to move his body. He spent the next two days at the hospital, after which he was discharged. Following this incident, Robertson spread public awareness about embolic stroke, its symptoms, and cures.

Prior to his stroke in August 2017, he sustained minor injuries from a horseback riding accident and had to be hospitalised for a short duration. Likewise, in 2019, after a fall at home, he again had to return to the hospital to tend to his fractured ribs.

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Pat Robertson’s life at a glance

His countrymen will remember Pat Robertson as the Evangelical Christian leader who greatly influenced religious rights within American politics. Born in 1930, Robertson gained huge support from the evangelical community during his 1988 presidential campaign for the Republicans.

Although he lost to the then-future President George W. Bush, by then, he had sowed the seeds of the importance of religious liberty in socio-political life of the Americans and traditional values.

As for his other major contributions, Robertson founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, in 1960. A year later, he was also ordained as a Southern Baptist Minister. In fact, it was his own media empire that announced the news of his death, recently.

A philanthropist, educator, and long-time TV host of the daily CBN show The 700 Club, Robertson conducted it from 1966 to 2021. At the core of the show were two things: religious news clubbed with political commentaries with a touch of humor.

Besides CBN, Pat Robertson also famously founded the Christian Coalition, which is an organization dedicated to encouraging Republic political views among Americans since the 1980s. He was also one of the key founders of Virginia’s Regent University.

In recently years, he got involved in various controversies for his diabolical views against abortion and LGBTQ rights in the USA. He was also a supporter of former US President Donald Trump. In April 2022, he lost his wife, Dede.

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Embolic stroke: Things you need to know

For those unaware, an embolic stroke is a kind of ischemic stroke that occurs only when a brain artery gets blocked. How does this happen? Well, the brain is dependent on the arteries to get blood from the heart and lungs, which, in turn, reaches oxygen and other important nutrients for the brain to function properly. Now, if any one of such arteries gets blocked, the brain comes to a standstill and its cells begin to deteriorate, thus causing an embolic stroke.

Some of its common causes include hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol, drug abuse, alcoholism, smoking and unhealthy lifestyle. Likewise, the common symptoms are speech difficulty, numbness in the limbs or face, walking troubles and short-term paralysis. While an embolic stroke can be treated if immediate medical attention is provided, it can often be fatal.