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.

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 999.

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.

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:

• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• diabetes
• irregular and fast heartbeats (atrial fibrillation)
• high cholesterol
• a transient ischaemic attack (TIA or mini stroke)

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

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.

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