For most people, getting better is about returning to the way they were before their stroke. Being able to speak again is particularly important for a lot of people. But even if you don't recover completely, there are many ways to communicate that don't rely on speaking.
Most individuals see a significant improvement in speech within the first six months of suffering a stroke. During this time, the brain is healing and repairing itself, so recovery is much quicker. But for others, the recovery process can be slow and their aphasia may endure for several more months and even years.
Speech problems following stroke sometimes recover within hours or days, however, some communication problems are more permanent. Some people had help from a Speech and Language Therapist to aid their recovery (see 'Stroke recovery: Communication disorders').
Fortunately, most people recover language and communication skills, though the rate at which they regain abilities – and whether they make a full recovery – varies depending on the individual. For some, it's a slow and uncertain climb and anything that might help the process is welcome.
When the ability to communicate is affected due to a stroke, it's known as aphasia. This occurs because one or more of the regions of the brain that control language and speech have been either injured or damaged.
Aphasia is a language disorder that affects your ability to communicate. It's most often caused by strokes in the left side of the brain that control speech and language. People with aphasia may struggle with communicating in daily activities at home, socially or at work. They may also feel isolated.
Although just 10% of people fully recover from a stroke, 25% have only minor impairments and 40% have moderate impairments that are manageable with some special care.
After a stroke, you may have difficulty speaking. It may also be difficult to understand others when they speak or gesture to you. Reading and writing may be difficult. Your speech pathologist will work with you to develop a rehabilitation program.
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.
“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 survival rate was the highest for those 50 years and younger (57%), and the lowest for those aged over 70 years (9%). Predictors of 5-year mortality were older age and hypertension for both types of stroke, heart diseases for ischemic stroke and diabetes for intracerebral hemorrhage.
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.
Fortunately, if you participate in regular rehabilitation, the outlook is positive by the 6 month mark. Studies show that about 65-85% of stroke patients will learn to walk independently after 6 months of rehabilitation. For those recovering from a massive stroke with severe effects, recovery may take more time.
After receiving prompt treatments during stroke attacks, the golden period of post-stroke rehabilitation is within 3-6 months. Rehabilitation helps stroke survivors relearn skills that are lost when part of the brain is damaged.
A massive stroke commonly refers to strokes (any type) that result in death, long-term paralysis, or coma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists three main types of stroke: Ischemic stroke, caused by blood clots. Hemorrhagic stroke, caused by ruptured blood vessels that cause brain bleeding.
Tongue stretches and exercises will strengthen the muscle and make it easier for stroke patients to make the proper sounds to form words. It also helps to strengthen the neural pathways and the “muscle memory” of speech that patients can lose after having a stroke. One such exercise is sticking the tongue in and out.
A stroke can damage certain areas of the brain responsible for either central or peripheral vision, causing a portion of the visual field to be lost, causing vision to be 'blacked-out' or have 'blind spots. ' In most cases, the same area of the visual field is lost in both eyes.
Conclusion: Stroke survivors living alone needed a higher ADL level to return home than those living with a family. A LIMOS total score above 158 points allows a clinician to discharge a patient that lives alone, whereas a lower LIMOS score above 130 points can be sufficient in a patient that lives with a family.
If you drive a car or motorbike and you had a single transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke with no brain surgery or seizures, you can usually start driving again after one calendar month.
In many cases, stroke patients are discharged from the hospital to either a rehabilitation facility or their home within four to seven days.