Is it possible to have a stroke and not know it, like if you're sleeping or the symptoms are mild? Answer from Ted Lowenkopf, M.D., medical director of Providence Stroke Center: Yes, you can have a stroke and not know it.
Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke
Facial drooping, often only on one side. Arm or leg weakness. Speech difficulties. Dizziness.
The silent type
Brain damage from silent strokes is minor and limited to areas of the brain that don't control parts of the body that would prompt typical stroke symptoms, such as blurry vision or trouble raising an arm. Rather, you might have difficulty concentrating or remembering things.
Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
OBJECTIVE Ischaemic stroke occurs only in 20%-40% of patients at night. The aim of the study was to compare sleep and stroke characteristics of patients with and without night time onset of acute ischaemic cerebrovascular events.
What is wake-up stroke? What causes wake-up stroke? Dr Bellolio explained that wake up strokes were influenced by circadian or night time changes in blood clotting, hormone levels and neurological function and like cardiac events, strokes were more common in the morning.
Background It is reported that 13% to 44% of all cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) occur during sleep. In addition to other well-known risk factors, snoring, sleep apnea, obesity, and daytime sleepiness have been shown to significantly increase the risk of stroke.
One of the most common stroke mimics is a seizure, which researchers believe account for as many as 20% of all stroke mimics. Other common stroke mimics include migraines, syncope, sepsis, brain tumor and metabolic derangement (low sodium or low blood sugar).
In addition to the classic stroke symptoms associated with the FAST acronym, around 7-65% of people undergoing a stroke will experience some form of a headache. People describe a stroke-related headache as a very severe headache that comes on within seconds or minutes.
In fact, ischemic strokes unfold over a period of 10 hours. That means that with every second you wait for treatment, the brain damage gets worse. If a stroke is untreated for the full 10 hours, the brain ages up to 36 years! With every minute you wait, the brain loses two million brain cells.
MRI is best at detecting silent strokes, according to the statement. Its use for brain imaging has gone up dramatically over the years to investigate concerns about memory and cognition, stroke, dizziness, unusual headaches or Parkinson's disease, Gorelick said.
Approximately 14 percent of all strokes occur during sleep, preventing many from getting clot-busting treatment, according to a study published in the May 10, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Some people will experience symptoms such as headache, numbness or tingling several days before they have a serious stroke. One study found that 43% of stroke patients experienced mini-stroke symptoms up to a week before they had a major stroke.
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary period of symptoms similar to those of a stroke. A TIA usually lasts only a few minutes and doesn't cause permanent damage. Often called a ministroke, a TIA may be a warning.
You get stroke symptoms because a clot is blocking the blood supply in your brain. When the clot moves away, the stroke symptoms stop. You might feel like you're fine afterwards, but it's vital to get medical help right away.
Panic attacks are often confused with heart attacks or strokes. They share many of the same symptoms: Racing heart. Chest pains or tightness.
The first stage is flaccidity , and occurs immediately post-stroke. Muscles will be weak, limp, or even "floppy." Because a stroke often affects one side more than the other, this flaccidity may be limited to just one side.
Drink a lot of water: You should drink at least five glasses of water per day, and this will reduce your risk of stroke by 53%, according to a recent study by Loma Linda University.
Symptoms of a TIA come on suddenly. You may feel perfectly fine one minute and then suddenly develop difficulty speaking or moving one side of your body. Sometimes the symptoms will come and go several times in a short period of time.
Background and Purpose— Although stroke is strongly associated with hypertension, some individuals with normal blood pressure (BP) experience a stroke.
This meta-analysis of 11 816 strokes provides strong evidence that the onset of stroke symptoms has a circadian variation, with a higher risk in the early morning hours (6 am to noon), and lower risk during the nighttime period (midnight to 6 am).
If a patient recovers from a coma, they may regain consciousness slowly, moving through the stages of coma including a vegetative state and minimally conscious state. The eyes may regain movement first before other voluntary responses slowly appear.