Do people get better after a stroke
Will I get better after my stroke?
How much better?
How will I know?
How does the brain recover?
What treatments help?
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Movement of the extremities is often impaired after a stroke. But the ability to move usually improves substantially during the first 30 days after the stroke and can continue to improve for up to 90 days. Recovery takes twice as long when there is serious impairment of movement. Most patients will have some remaining impairment of motion following their stroke.
Speech ability is also often impaired after a stroke. Speech improves in most patients. For those with mild speech impairment, improvement occurs within two weeks. For severe speech impairment it can take 10 weeks. Some patients continue to show improvement for months or years afterward.
Stroke can also interfere with your ability to think, remember, and pay attention to the world around you. Maximum improvement after the stroke usually occurs within three months but continued improvement may occur for a year.
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Strokes can be very different for different people and the effects will vary depending on what part of the brain is injured. Because of this, it is not easy to generalize about the extent of improvement that you can expect. In addition, the patient’s outcome will depend on his/her general health. A healthy, active, young person will have a better outcome than an elderly, ill person.
If a person only has mild symptoms during the first few days after a stroke, they will generally be able to function better after recovery than a person who had severe symptoms after their stroke. Younger patients will have better recovery than elderly patients. The larger the area of damage to the brain, the less chance there is of getting full recovery.
There are research tests that help predict whether or not good language function will return or if movement will recover. Generally the doctor will be able to provide helpful advice based on your circumstances.
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When brain cells die as a result of a stroke, the body removes the dead cell debris. The brain function that has been impaired by the stroke can recover.
Undamaged brain areas near the area of the stroke may have impaired function as a result of the loss of normal communication with the damaged tissue. But after time, these regions resume their activity and some of the functions that were performed by the damaged area can be taken over by a neighboring healthy area of the brain and allow recovery to occur.
In the normal brain an activity such as pointing a finger is the result of coordinated activity in many different parts of the brain. When a stroke damages one part of this network of activity, the remaining parts of the brain increase their activity in an effort to recover the function.
In addition, there are two brain hemispheres and when an area in one hemisphere is damaged, many patients start to use both sides of the brain to perform a task.
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Today, good medical care allows the brain to heal after a stroke. Physical, occupational and speech therapy all play an important role in patients that have disabilities from their stroke. Family and other caregivers are vital to support the patient’s efforts toward recovery.
The brain has mechanisms to repair itself, but scientists are just beginning to understand them. The results from some experimental studies show that some medicines that stimulate brain cell activity or cause brain cells to grow can increase recovery from stroke. In other studies, introducing cells into the brain can promote recovery.
Within a few years, specific medicines should be available to improve patients’ recovery after a stroke.
There are many reasons to be optimistic about meaningful recovery after a stroke.
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