HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury

Overview of stroke

Mō te roro ikura

 

A stroke happens when you have a bleed or a blood clot blocking the blood supply to part of your brain. This causes damage to brain tissue that might have long-term effects. The effects of a stroke depend on which part of your brain is affected.

Some people develop symptoms similar to a stroke, but fully recover within a few hours. This may be a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), also called a mini stroke.

The main risk factors for having a stroke are high blood pressure, having narrowed arteries (atherosclerosis) and the heart rhythm problem atrial fibrillation. Doing a cardiovascular risk assessment can show if you have an increased risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

Symptoms of stroke

The main symptoms of a stroke are known as FAST. These are:

• Face – face drooping on one side.
• Arm – arm weak on one side. The leg may also be weak.
• Speech – speech jumbled or slurred.
• Time – Time is critical. Call 111 for an ambulance.

Other less common symptoms of a stroke include:

• dizziness, loss of balance or an unexplained fall
• loss of vision, sudden blurring or decreased vision in one or both eyes
• headache, usually severe and coming on suddenly
• difficulty swallowing.

Diagnosing a stroke

To diagnose a stroke, a doctor will ask about your symptoms and examine you.

If they suspect a stroke, they will arrange further tests, such as:

• blood tests
• an ECG (electrocardiogram) to check your heart rhythm
• a CT or MRI scan of your head.

Treating a stroke

Your treatment depends on the type of stroke you've had, including which part of your brain is affected and what caused the stroke.

Emergency treatment is used to reduce the damage to your brain. If a blood clot has caused your stroke, options include a medicine to dissolve the clot (thrombolysis) and a procedure to remove the blood clot from your brain (clot retrieval).

Other treatment may include medication to stop clots forming (antiplatelet medication), medication to control blood pressure, statin medication to lower cholesterol and blood-thinning medication (anticoagulants) if you have atrial fibrillation.

You may need rehabilitation to help recover from the lasting effects of the stroke. You may have help from a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and speech-language therapist for this.

Preventing strokes

You cannot control all risk factors, but lifestyle changes can help you lower some risks. This means:

• if you smoke, stop smoking
• eat healthy food
• avoid too much alcohol
• keep active
• maintain a healthy weight.

See your general practice team to get checked for other conditions that affect your risk of stroke such as high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, high cholesterol and diabetes. If you have any of these conditions, keep them under control.

  HealthInfo recommends the following videos

• HealthSketch – What is a stroke?

  A video explaining what strokes are and how to prevent them.

• Healthify He Puna Wairoa – Videos about stroke

  For videos about stroke, including personal stories from people who have had strokes, follow the link, scroll down the page and open the Personal stories block.

  HealthInfo recommends the following pages

• Stroke Foundation
  • Affected by stroke

    Information about all aspects of stroke.

    Includes links to information in Māori and Pacific languages.

  • Reducing stroke risk

    Information about steps you can take to reduce your risk of stroke.

    Includes links to information in Māori and Pacific languages.

On the next page: Self-care after a stroke

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed September 2022.

Sources

Page reference: 503098

Review key: HISTK-21790