Stroke: symptoms and causes

A stroke is when blood stops flowing to a part of your brain. It can affect things like speech and movement, and take a long time to recover. A stroke needs urgent medical help in hospital because it can be life-threatening.

Symptoms of a stroke

Check for signs of a stroke

The main symptoms of a stroke can happen suddenly. They may include:

face weakness – one side of your face may droop (fall) and it might be hard to smile
arm weakness – you may not be able to fully lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in 1 arm
speech problems – you may slur your words or sound confused

The easiest way to remember these symptoms is the word FAST. This stands for: face, arms, speech and time to call 112.

Other symptoms of a stroke

There are other signs that you or someone else is having a stroke. These include:

weakness or numbness down 1 side of your body
blurred vision or loss of sight in 1 or both eyes
finding it difficult to speak or think of words
confusion and memory loss
feeling dizzy or falling over
a severe headache
feeling or being sick (nausea or vomiting)

Symptoms of a stroke can sometimes stop after a short time, so you may think you're OK. Even if this happens, get medical help straight away.

A stroke is more likely to happen if you're older, but it can happen at any age.

Call 112 now if:

you think you're having, or have had a stroke
you've had signs of a stroke within the last 24 hours even if they've now stopped

Do not drive yourself to A&E.

The person you speak to at 112 will give you advice about what to do.

Diagnosing a stroke

Important

If you're with someone who's had a stroke and they cannot speak, you may be asked for information about their symptoms. This helps to diagnose what type of stroke they've had.

How a stroke is diagnosed

If a doctor thinks you've had a stroke, they'll do tests such as:

blood tests
CT, MRI and ultrasound scans to check in and around your brain
an electrocardiogram (ECG) to check your heart

These tests can show what type of stroke you've had. The different types of stroke include:

an ischaemic stroke – this happens when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain. It's the most common type of stroke
a haemorrhagic stroke – this happens when a blood vessel bursts
a transient ischaemic attack (TIA or mini stroke) – this is when the symptoms of a stroke do not last very long (less than 24 hours)

A TIA should be treated as urgent. If you do not get immediate medical attention, you could be at risk of having a full stroke.

Treatment for a stroke

Getting treatment for a stroke

If you have a stroke, your treatment will depend on what type of stroke you've had.

In the first 24 hours after a stroke, your treatment may include:

medicine to get rid of blood clots in the brain (thrombolysis)
surgery to remove a blood clot (thrombectomy) or drain fluid from the brain
a procedure to stop pressure building up inside the skull or brain

While you're in hospital, a healthcare team of doctors, specialists and therapists will help you start your recovery.

Medicines for a stroke

Treatments you may be given, often long term, include:

anticoagulants to stop blood clots forming
medicines to lower your blood pressure
statins to lower your cholesterol

Recovering from a stroke

How a stroke can affect your life

Strokes affect people in different ways. For some, it may take days or weeks to recover and there will be little impact on their life.

For others, recovery can take months or years and may mean making life changes. This can include things such as adapting your home to make it easier to move around. You may have to stop work for a while or long term.

Your recovery will depend on how much a stroke has affected you physically and mentally, and your rehabilitation plan. The exercises, activities and therapy sessions you do as part of your rehabilitation are often difficult, but it will help you make progress.

The plan given to you by your healthcare team will help you set goals. Getting family and friends involved can also help you get better.

Supporting your recovery after a stroke

When you're discharged from hospital, your healthcare team will continue to support you. They do this by creating a home recovery plan.

Your plan may include:

physiotherapy and exercises to help with movement – this may also help if you have problems such as numbness down 1 side of the body
cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help with anxiety, depression and tiredness
activities to improve your memory, concentration, thinking and mood (cognitive rehabilitation)
exercises to help improve problems with your speech, swallowing, and vision
advice, exercises and medicines to help with bowel or bladder problems

You can choose how you want to do your rehabilitation. It can be done in person or, if it's easier, online (telerehabilitation).

Your healthcare team will make sure you have the right equipment to do this at home. They should also offer you the training or technical support you need to use it.

After about 6 months, you should get a review of your progress. If you do not get this, speak to your team about it.

Support for carers

If you're caring for someone who has had a stroke, you'll be a big part of their recovery.

Looking after someone who has had a stroke can be difficult, frustrating and lonely. Try to make sure you get all the support and help you need.

Causes of a stroke

What causes a stroke

A stroke can happen to anyone at any age, but your risk may increase if:

you're over 50 years old
you're from a Black or South Asian background
you have sickle cell disease (SCD)
you have an unhealthy lifestyle
you have migraines
you take the combined contraceptive pill
you're pregnant and have pre-eclampsia
you've just had a baby

Certain conditions also increase the risk of stroke. These include:

Reducing the risk of a stroke

If you have a stroke, or a transient ischaemic stroke (TIA, or mini-stroke), you're more at risk of having another stroke. But there are things you can do to lower the risk.

Do

quit smoking
eat a balanced diet
exercise
cut down on alcohol

Don’t

do not forget to take medicines for any underlying conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes – talk to a GP if you have any problems with your medicine

Support after a stroke

Getting help after a stroke

Having a stroke can affect your mental health. It can help to talk about how you're feeling.

Help is available in person, by video, over the phone or as an online course.

Support from charities

You can get advice from charities such as:

Stroke