Stroke

A stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident or CVA, occurs when the blood supply to an area of the brain is suddenly cut off, causing it to become starved of oxygen. This leads to damage or death of the cells in the affected area. The physical effects of this depend on which artery in the brain is affected; a blockage of a small one may lead to minor symptoms, whilst blockage of a major artery can lead to permanent or temporary paralysis and, in extreme cases, death.

There are over 130,000 cases of stroke every year in the UK, with 90% of them occurring in patients over the age of 55. Approximately one-third of the people who suffer from stroke will recover well, one-third develop a moderate to severe disability, whilst the final-third of patients die within a year. Strokes are the leading cause of disability in the UK (300,000 people have a stroke-related disability) and they are the third most common cause of death, after cancer and heart disease.

In this section, you can find information of the causes and symptoms of stroke, along with advice on how they may be diagnosed and treated.