A “silent” stroke is a thrombus blockage of the blood vessels of the brain, as a result of which there is a violation of the blood supply to its individual sections. However, statistics show that if you do not pay attention to the signs of the development of this dangerous condition in time, then a true stroke may occur after some time.
10. Blurred vision or its loss
Thromboembolism of cerebral vessels may well affect the quality of human vision. Therefore, more than a third of patients who had a stroke “on their feet” noted a sharp decrease in their vision (or its complete loss). A similar symptom can manifest itself immediately before an attack. It is this characteristic feature that makes it possible to differentiate the neurological symptom associated with a disorder of the blood supply to the brain, with ophthalmic disorders.
9. Tremor or trouble breathing
This is another characteristic symptom of a “silent” stroke. The patient may suddenly feel that it has become difficult to breathe. Sometimes he may just feel suffocation for a while. This is because when the vessels of the brain become blocked, the human body experiences an acute oxygen deficiency, which in turn causes cardiac arrhythmia. Another manifestation of this condition can be a sudden tremor in the whole body, not associated with either a decrease in temperature or the experience of strong emotions.
8. Facial palsy
This symptom is considered one of the main and most striking manifestations of a stroke, allowing to distinguish it from other neurological pathologies. Most often, the patient paralyzes one side of the face, because of this it acquires an asymmetric expression. To recognize a stroke in the initial stages of the development of a disease, a person experiencing symptoms of cerebrovascular accident is asked to smile. A crooked smile is a characteristic sign of a stroke.
7. Fatigue
Statistics show that women very often complain of sudden fatigue, distraction, a sharp decrease in concentration immediately before a stroke. It is interesting that representatives of the strong half of humanity before the onset of such symptoms are not observed.
6. Pain on one side of the face
A “silent” stroke is not always accompanied by pain, but sometimes sharp and sudden pain in the limbs or on one half of the face can clearly indicate a violation of the blood vessels of the cerebral vessels. A headache appears for no apparent reason. Some patients compare this relationship to a sudden stroke.
5. Hiccups
The mechanism of hiccups is closely related to the swallowing reflex. Several brain structures are involved in the formation of this reflex. If one of the structures involved has suffered due to a violation of cerebral circulation, then a violation may well occur during the movement of the food lump through the esophagus, leading to hiccups. Hiccups can also appear as a result of a clot in a blood clot in the respiratory center of the brain. It is noteworthy that in the vast majority of cases, this symptom with a stroke occurs in women.
Remember, if hiccups last more than 2 days and do not go away after applying the usual means of controlling this condition, then in this case you should immediately seek medical help to prevent the development of more severe consequences of a stroke.
4. Sudden headache and / or dizziness
Almost always, the clinical picture of a “silent” stroke in women under the age of 45 is accompanied by dizziness. Most often, this symptom does not receive proper attention, since in most cases it is attributed to either overwork or lack of sleep. But a sharp dizziness combined with an acute headache is a classic sign of a stroke, which should become the reason for immediate medical attention.
3. Loss of balance and problems with walking
This is another characteristic sign of a stroke that occurs in the early stages of the development of this condition. Ataxia, or impaired coordination, is a type of movement disorder that often occurs in patients with stroke. This is a fairly broad concept that summarizes several types of coordination disorders. In clinical practice, cerebellar ataxia is most commonly reported as a result of circulatory disorders in the cerebellum.
2. Headaches and migraines
Migraine is a fairly common ailment. It is a variety of headache attacks, the main distinguishing features of which is the distribution of pain over one of the halves of the head (usually in the frontotemporal zone). The pain is sharp pulsating in this case. Also, this condition is characterized by an acute onset of the attack, photophobia, nausea, vomiting and severe impotence after the attack. Rarely, these symptoms are mistaken for one of the manifestations of a stroke. It is much easier to carry out differential diagnosis if migraine occurs in combination with other vivid clinical manifestations of cerebrovascular accident.
According to statistics, migraine with a stroke most often occurs in women. There is no clear explanation for this pattern, but there is an opinion that this is due to the structural features of the brain of women, because it is the fair sex that often suffers from chronic migraine attacks.
1. Anxiety and incoherent speech
The incoherence of speech may not be a very pronounced symptom with a “silent” stroke. It occurs as a result of damage to certain areas of the brain. Patients who have had a stroke usually have two types of speech disorders: dysarthria and aphasia. Dysarthria occurs with damage to the subcortical structures. It is characterized by a violation of the pronunciation of words caused by dysfunction of articulation, speech breathing and intonation. Because of this, human speech becomes difficult to understand. Also, with this disorder, increased salivation and inhibition of pronunciation are observed. In this case, the patient does not lose the ability to understand the speech of others, to write and read.
Aphasia is manifested by a violation of the pronunciation of words with intact hearing and articulation. This pathology arises due to the fact that brain cells do not fully receive the signal for the correct construction of speech.