Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsImportance of TimingOrder of TreatmentRecoveryLong-Term Managment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Importance of Timing
Order of Treatment
Recovery
Long-Term Managment
Stroke treatment is complicated. The timing of different types of stroke treatment is crucial to achieving the best outcome.
The next few days after a stroke involve close monitoring, often with careful adjustment of medications to help optimize recovery. When the effects of a stroke have stabilized, management focuses onrehabilitationand stroke prevention.
This article describes the different types of stroke treatment and the sequence and timing of each type.
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Stroke Types
Types of stroke include:
Importance of Timing in Stroke Treatment
Stroke treatment includes many different types of therapies:
Each treatment has a specific time during which it can be beneficial and safe. Some treatments that can be lifesaving during certain stages of a stroke could be useless or dangerous when applied at a different time in stroke care.
Which Stroke Treatment Works Best?Stroke treatment is individualized based on the type of stroke, how long symptoms have lasted, how soon a person gets to the hospital, and underlying medical conditions. The best treatment for one situation isn’t the best for another situation.
Which Stroke Treatment Works Best?
Stroke treatment is individualized based on the type of stroke, how long symptoms have lasted, how soon a person gets to the hospital, and underlying medical conditions. The best treatment for one situation isn’t the best for another situation.
Order of Stroke Treatment and Time Window
A stroke is a medical emergency. Though a stroke often means a person will need long-term care, immediate treatment is crucial. Getting prompt treatment for stroke symptoms can help prevent or reduce permanentbrain damage. This can improve your ability to recover.
It’s important torecognize stroke symptoms, which may involve sudden:
Call 911If you or anyone experiences stroke symptoms, it is important to call 911 immediately.There is no treatment for a stroke that you can administer at home. Do not delay getting emergency medical treatment. Learn the FAST warning signs of strokes:F: Facial droopingA: Arm weaknessS: Speech difficultyT: Time to call 911 (every minute counts)
Call 911
If you or anyone experiences stroke symptoms, it is important to call 911 immediately.There is no treatment for a stroke that you can administer at home. Do not delay getting emergency medical treatment. Learn the FAST warning signs of strokes:F: Facial droopingA: Arm weaknessS: Speech difficultyT: Time to call 911 (every minute counts)
If you or anyone experiences stroke symptoms, it is important to call 911 immediately.There is no treatment for a stroke that you can administer at home. Do not delay getting emergency medical treatment. Learn the FAST warning signs of strokes:
Treatment for a stroke follows this sequence:
At this point, administration ofintravenous heparin,tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), or an interventional procedure to remove ablood clotmay serve as treatment.These therapies can be valuable in immediate stroke care but also raise the risk of bleeding anywhere in the body, including the brain.
Surgical interventionmay be an option when there are:
The Role of Blood Thinners in Stroke TreatmentBlood thinners are common treatments for acute stroke treatment and stroke prevention.Sometimes, within a few hours of an ischemic stroke, intravenous heparin or TPA, or intra-arterial thrombolytics are administered to dissolve a blood clot or to prevent a blood clot from enlarging.Anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents can be used forpreventing recurrent strokein certain situations, such as carotid artery disease or an irregular heart rhythm.Some of the blood thinners used daily to prevent a stroke may include:AspirinPlavix (clopidogrel)WarfarinPradaxa (dabigatran)Xarelto (rivaroxaban)Eliquis (apixaban)
The Role of Blood Thinners in Stroke Treatment
Blood thinners are common treatments for acute stroke treatment and stroke prevention.Sometimes, within a few hours of an ischemic stroke, intravenous heparin or TPA, or intra-arterial thrombolytics are administered to dissolve a blood clot or to prevent a blood clot from enlarging.Anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents can be used forpreventing recurrent strokein certain situations, such as carotid artery disease or an irregular heart rhythm.Some of the blood thinners used daily to prevent a stroke may include:AspirinPlavix (clopidogrel)WarfarinPradaxa (dabigatran)Xarelto (rivaroxaban)Eliquis (apixaban)
Blood thinners are common treatments for acute stroke treatment and stroke prevention.
Sometimes, within a few hours of an ischemic stroke, intravenous heparin or TPA, or intra-arterial thrombolytics are administered to dissolve a blood clot or to prevent a blood clot from enlarging.
Anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents can be used forpreventing recurrent strokein certain situations, such as carotid artery disease or an irregular heart rhythm.
Some of the blood thinners used daily to prevent a stroke may include:
Stroke Treatment in Recovery
The body may begin to recover in the hours and days after a stroke. Still, it can also undergo a stress response that may cause inflammation, swelling, fluctuations in breathing, heart function, glucose levels, and fluid andelectrolytebalance.
Medical care can help maximize recovery and reduce the likelihood of lasting damage.
This can include:
Stroke recovery can be distressing. That’s because one aspect of recovery is improved awareness of the stroke. You might begin to realize that you’ve had a stroke, and the reality of noticing lost abilities can be upsetting.
Long-Term Stroke Treatment and Management
After stroke recovery, coping, treatment, and prevention are likely to remain an ongoing part of your life.
Rehabilitation and Coping
Your life may change significantly after a stroke. The effects of a stroke vary widely. For example, a stroke can cause loss of peripheral vision, weakness on one side of the body, impaired balance,post-stroke headaches, and more.
One of the main components of long-term coping involves identifying the new disabilities that have occurred due to a stroke.When you and your healthcare providers have clearly defined the effects of your stroke, you can work together to create a long-term plan.
This may includephysical therapy and rehabilitation, often with someoccupational therapy.Speech and swallow therapycan help if you have developed difficulties with communication or impaired control of your chewing and swallowing abilities.
Medication can often help if you have developed post-stroke pain, such as headaches or muscle aches.
Additionally, you may need to make some adjustments to your day-to-day life. These can include using a walker, reassessing whether it’s safe to drive, or cutting back on work or other responsibilities.
Over time, many people continue to experience improvement after a stroke, so it’s important that you remain optimistic even after your initial recovery stage.
Benefits and Preparations for In-Home Physical Therapy
Mental Health
Many people feel depressed, anxious, or both after a stroke.If you have these feelings, having a diagnostic assessment and initiating appropriate treatment can help. Getting a mental health evaluation after a stroke and starting treatment early can prevent your mental health from worsening.
Treatment may include counseling and medication. Some people benefit more from counseling, some from medication, and some from a combination. You and your healthcare providers can determine the most effective approach.
Prevention
Many people who have had a stroke remain at risk of another stroke.Consideration of risk factors is an important aspect of stroke care. Prevention involves a combination of medication, procedures, or lifestyle adjustments.
Medical tests can help identify your stroke risk factors, and you can treat many of the risk factors can to reduce your risk of another stroke substantially.
Tests and treatments forstroke risk factorsinclude:
Summary
Stroke treatment that’s initiated within a few hours of the first stroke symptoms can help prevent stroke damage and may also minimize the severity of the damage. Early stroke treatments can include blood thinners, intra-arterial blood clot treatment, and management of blood pressure, heart function, fluid levels, electrolytes, and oxygen.
Sometimes surgical treatment is necessary if a stroke results from bleeding or if swelling in the brain is severe and treatable. Within the first few days after a stroke, medical management can help augment recovery. Intravenous blood thinners may prove necessary during this time as well.
After you or your loved one has stabilized, rehabilitation is key to regaining the best quality of life possible. Preventing another stroke is also important and may require taking oral blood thinners and managing medical stroke risk factors.
The 7 Stages of Stroke Recovery
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and prevention.Treat and recover from a stroke.Kleindorfer DO, Towfighi A, Chaturvedi S, et al.2021 guideline for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack: a guideline from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke.2021;52(7):e364-e467. doi:10.1161/STR.0000000000000375American Stroke Association.Stroke symptoms.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Stroke treatment.Pundi K, Baykaner T, True Hills M, et al.Blood thinners for atrial fibrillation stroke prevention.Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol.2021;14(6):e009389. doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.120.009389National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Stroke.Flach C, Muruet W, Wolfe CDA, et al.Risk and secondary prevention of stroke recurrence: a population-base cohort study.Stroke. 2020;51(8):2435-2444. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.028992National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke.Atrial fibrillation and stroke.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and prevention.Treat and recover from a stroke.Kleindorfer DO, Towfighi A, Chaturvedi S, et al.2021 guideline for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack: a guideline from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke.2021;52(7):e364-e467. doi:10.1161/STR.0000000000000375American Stroke Association.Stroke symptoms.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Stroke treatment.Pundi K, Baykaner T, True Hills M, et al.Blood thinners for atrial fibrillation stroke prevention.Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol.2021;14(6):e009389. doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.120.009389National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Stroke.Flach C, Muruet W, Wolfe CDA, et al.Risk and secondary prevention of stroke recurrence: a population-base cohort study.Stroke. 2020;51(8):2435-2444. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.028992National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke.Atrial fibrillation and stroke.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and prevention.Treat and recover from a stroke.Kleindorfer DO, Towfighi A, Chaturvedi S, et al.2021 guideline for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack: a guideline from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke.2021;52(7):e364-e467. doi:10.1161/STR.0000000000000375American Stroke Association.Stroke symptoms.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Stroke treatment.Pundi K, Baykaner T, True Hills M, et al.Blood thinners for atrial fibrillation stroke prevention.Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol.2021;14(6):e009389. doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.120.009389National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Stroke.Flach C, Muruet W, Wolfe CDA, et al.Risk and secondary prevention of stroke recurrence: a population-base cohort study.Stroke. 2020;51(8):2435-2444. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.028992National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke.Atrial fibrillation and stroke.
Centers for Disease Control and prevention.Treat and recover from a stroke.
Kleindorfer DO, Towfighi A, Chaturvedi S, et al.2021 guideline for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack: a guideline from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke.2021;52(7):e364-e467. doi:10.1161/STR.0000000000000375
American Stroke Association.Stroke symptoms.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Stroke treatment.
Pundi K, Baykaner T, True Hills M, et al.Blood thinners for atrial fibrillation stroke prevention.Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol.2021;14(6):e009389. doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.120.009389
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Stroke.
Flach C, Muruet W, Wolfe CDA, et al.Risk and secondary prevention of stroke recurrence: a population-base cohort study.Stroke. 2020;51(8):2435-2444. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.028992
National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke.Atrial fibrillation and stroke.
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