The first three days are of utmost importance for the recovery and survival rate of the stroke patient, since they can determine if the patient will have lifelong disabilities or leave the hospital and continue to be a productive part of the community.
“The first three months after a stroke are the most important for recovery and when patients will see the most improvement,” says Raghavan. During this time, most patients will enter and complete an inpatient rehabilitation program, or make progress in their outpatient therapy sessions.
The stroke recovery process is long and can come with many challenges, including the feeling that symptoms are getting worse instead of better. However, know that regression after stroke is common and often temporary. This can be impacted by factors such as new medications, schedule changes, or excess fatigue.
During the first few days after your stroke, you might be very tired and need to recover from the initial event. Meanwhile, your team will identify the type of stroke, where it occurred, the type and amount of damage, and the effects. They may perform more tests and blood work.
Mortality within 72 hours after stroke onset was 5.0% (32 patients) and a further 4.2% (27 patients) died within ten days. At discharge from the stroke unit, 63.9% of the 571 patients who survived went directly to their home with or without homecare and the other patients required further hospital based rehabilitation.
For this reason, the 60 minutes after the onset of stroke symptoms are known as “the golden hour.” If treatment can be initiated within this brief window, the patient's outcome is likely to be better.
The first hour is considered to be the most crucial or in other terms “golden” because stroke patients have a high chance of survival and prevention of long-term brain damage if they receive medical treatment and drug therapy within the first 60 minutes of the onset of symptoms.
Strokes can cause weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, and can result in problems with co-ordination and balance. Many people also experience extreme tiredness (fatigue) in the first few weeks after a stroke, and may also have difficulty sleeping, making them even more tired.
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.
The result may be neurological, cognitive and physical disability or death. The longer the blockage, the greater the damage. That's why it's critical to get medical help as quickly as possible when signs and symptoms appear, Shafie says.
Stroke impacts the brain, and the brain controls our behavior and emotions. You or your loved one may experience feelings of irritability, forgetfulness, carelessness or confusion. Feelings of anger, anxiety or depression are also common.
Give yourself plenty of time to recover from your stroke. It can take many months before post-stroke fatigue starts to lift. Accepting that it takes time to improve can help you to cope better. Find out how much you can do in a day and stick to it.
Recovering from a stroke requires time, patience, and, perhaps most important of all, rest. Support and empathy from family members or a support group is highly encouraged as this can be a difficult process.
The rate of recovery is generally greatest in the weeks and months after a stroke. However, there is evidence that performance can improve even 12 to 18 months after a stroke.
Physical therapy uses exercises to help you relearn movement and coordination skills you may have lost because of the stroke. Occupational therapy focuses on improving daily activities, such as eating, drinking, dressing, bathing, reading, and writing.
If an individual who becomes considerably more hemiplegic 4 hours after the first symptom of weakness and then stabilizes enters a hospital at hour 2, he or she is classified as worsening.
Common post-stroke physical problems include: Weakness, paralysis, and trouble with balance or coordination. Pain, numbness, or burning and tingling feelings. Fatigue, which may continue after you return home.
Stroke can lead to serious health complications, which can also cause someone to become very unwell. These can happen soon after a stroke or many months or years later. The medical team in the hospital carries out checks to identify and treat problems as they happen.
Ischemic stroke
If you arrive within four-and-a-half hours of the onset of the stroke, you might receive a medication called IV tPA (intravenous tissue plasminogen activator). This is a protein that your body makes to break up clots.
According to the most recent national data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the average length of stay for stroke in the U.S. was 6.2 days.
Time is critical because a stroke starves brain tissue of life-giving oxygen, causing it to start to die in as little as four minutes after the beginning of a stroke. When brain tissue dies, it is gone forever.
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a prevalent symptom among stroke survivors. This symptom is an independent risk factor for stroke and may reduce stroke survivors' quality of life, cognitive functioning, and daytime functional performance.