Yes, you can have a stroke and not know it. A stroke's effects can be undetectable if the stroke is small or if the tissue damaged does not serve a critical function. Evidence of the stroke would show on a CT scan or an MRI of the brain, but it might not produce symptoms.
An MRI can show signs of a stroke years or even decades after the stroke happens. Sometimes, a person may not know they had a stroke until a long time afterward. MRI is the most accurate way to view signs of stroke inside the brain, but a CT scan is often faster and more widely available.
Usually, a silent stroke is discovered unexpectedly on a brain CT or brain MRI. These imaging tests can easily distinguish past strokes from recent strokes.
What are the signs of stroke in men and women? 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.
Weakness, numbness or paralysis in the face, arm or leg, typically on one side of the body. Slurred or garbled speech or difficulty understanding others. Blindness in one or both eyes or double vision. Vertigo or loss of balance or coordination.
They're called silent strokes, and they either have no easy-to-recognize symptoms, or you don't remember them. But they do cause permanent damage in your brain. If you've had more than one silent stroke, you may have thinking and memory problems. They can also lead to more severe strokes.
How Does a Stroke Impact Life Expectancy? Despite the likelihood of making a full recovery, life expectancy after stroke incidents can decrease. Unfortunately, researchers have observed a wide range of life expectancy changes in stroke patients, but the average reduction in lifespan is nine and a half years.
The most common types of disability after stroke are changes to speech, learning and understanding, and weakness or paralysis on one side of the body. The healthcare professionals who can help you depend on the types of challenges you face.
An MRI can sometimes show the site of the TIA, especially if it's done soon after it happens. But this is not the main way that a TIA is diagnosed.
Unlike events such as a heart attack where there could be obvious signs of discomfort or pain, a silent stroke may include the following symptoms: Sudden lack of balance. Temporary loss of basic muscle movement (bladder included) Slight memory loss.
These brief episodes are transient ischemic attacks (TIA), sometimes called “mini-strokes.” They still should be taken seriously, because they tend to be signs of underlying serious conditions that can lead to a full stroke, even possibly in the few days following a TIA event if not evaluated and treated for a TIA.
Most people who have a mini-stroke feel fine after the event. In fact, many people don't even realize they've had one! Symptoms might include weakness, numbness, tingling, vision changes or difficulty speaking. Most symptoms are temporary and dissipate within minutes but sometimes can last up to 24 hours.
You or your loved one may experience feelings of irritability, forgetfulness, carelessness or confusion. Feelings of anger, anxiety or depression are also common. The good news is many disabilities resulting from stroke tend to improve over time. Likewise, behavioral and emotional changes also tend to improve.
Even after surviving a stroke, you're not out of the woods, since having one makes it a lot more likely that you'll have another. In fact, of the 795,000 Americans who will have a first stroke this year, 23 percent will suffer a second stroke.
For example, 79% of people survive 2 years, 61% survive 3 years, …, 5% survive 16 years, and only 1% survive 20 years.
Recovery time after a stroke is different for everyone—it can take weeks, months, or even years. Some people recover fully, but others have long-term or lifelong disabilities.
Strokes may not be seen on a CT scan for several reasons. It can sometimes take several hours for the brain to appear abnormal after the onset of stroke. The affected region may also be a part of the brain that CT scans do not image well, such as the cerebellum or the brainstem.
Tests to diagnose stroke include the following: Computed tomography (CT) uses X-rays to take clear, detailed pictures of your brain. It is often done right after a stroke is suspected. A brain CT scan can show if there is bleeding in the brain or damage to the brain cells from a stroke.
Introduction: An infarct on brain MRI is often seen as gold standard when diagnosing ischemic stroke. Although MRI has high sensitivity in detecting a lesion shortly after ischemic stroke, this rapidly declines when time progresses.
You will likely have a head CT scan or brain MRI. A stroke may show changes on these tests, but TIAs will not.
being sick. dizziness. confusion. difficulty understanding what others are saying.
While symptoms went away within several hours, your concern that it could happen again did not. The good news is you absolutely can live a full life after a mini-stroke.
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.