Health Conditions

What are the symptoms?

Ischemic stroke

General symptoms of an ischemic stroke include a sudden onset of the following:

• Numbness, weakness, or inability to move (paralysis) of face, arm, or leg, usually isolated to on one side of the body

• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes (such as dimness, blurring, double vision, or loss of vision)

• Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding

• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

• Severe headache with no known cause

Symptoms can develop suddenly (within minutes). They may also progress over hours or days. Symptoms of an ischemic stroke may be so minor that they are ignored or go unnoticed, but medical attention should not be delayed.

TIA

General symptoms of TIA include sudden onset of the following:

• Numbness or weakness in the face or limbs
• Dimming or loss of vision in one eye
• Unexpected falls
• Unexplained dizziness
• Nausea
• Double vision
• Drowsiness

The difference between the symptoms of TIA and stroke is that TIA symptoms usually end after 10 to 20 minutes when blood flow resumes.

Hemorrhagic stroke

General symptoms of a hemorrhagic stroke include sudden onset of the following:

• Headache (severe and in a specific area)
• Nausea and vomiting
• Neck stiffness
• Dizziness, seizures, or changes in mental state, such as irritability, confusion, and possibly, unconsciousness

Hemorrhagic strokes often occur during the daytime and during physical activity, although this is not always true. Symptoms of a hemorrhagic stroke typically begin suddenly (within seconds) and progress over several hours.

People with very high, uncontrolled blood pressure may have one or more symptoms before they have a hemorrhagic stroke, including the following:

• Severe headache in the back of the head or top of the neck
• Dizziness or fainting
• Tingling or numbness in an arm or leg, or an inability to move an arm or leg that comes and goes