Stroke Education
Stroke Information
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into the spaces surrounding brain cells.
There are two types of stroke:
- Ischemic stroke: oxygen is cut off and brain cells die
- Hemorrhagic stroke: sudden bleeding into or around the brain
Symptoms of a stroke include:
- Sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble with walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
Deficits that may result from a stroke:
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- Language impairment, called aphasia, causing trouble with:
- Talking
- Reading
- Writing
- Understanding
- Cognitive deficits
- Vision impairments
- Motor speech disorders
- Dysarthria- muscle weakness
- Apraxia of speech- trouble coordinating muscle movements
- Swallowing impairments, called dysphagia
- Paralysis or weakness of limbs
- Changes in sensation
- Reduced bladder control
- Language impairment, called aphasia, causing trouble with:
Incidence of stroke and aphasia:
- Every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke
- There are over 7,000,000 stroke survivors in the United States over the age of 20
- 2/3 of all strokes occur in people over the age of 65.
- 1/3 of all strokes occur in people under the age of 65.
- Many stroke survivors will have chronic deficits.
- Approximately 30% of stroke survivors will have chronic aphasia.
Recovery from stroke:
There is hope and recovery after stroke.
Work with your doctors and professionals from a wide range of health and rehabilitation professions to regain skills.
As long as you work on your recovery, your rehabilitation will continue.
In an inspiring Ted Talk, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist tells about her stroke and her recovery: My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor