This activity explores the knowledge and skills required by health and social care staff to understand the
causes of
stroke.
NB: This module has undergone a full content review and update March 2021
Learning Points:
Explain what a stroke is
State the causes of stroke
Describe the relationship between the area of the brain affected by the stroke and the extent of the damage
Common symptoms include:
Slurred speech or difficulty finding some words
Loss of, or disturbed vision in one or both eyes
Weakness, numbness, clumsiness or pins and needles on one side of the body e.g. arm or leg. This may also be seen on the
person’s face by the appearance of a drooping mouth.
Think FAST
Face Can they smile or is one side of the mouth or eye drooping?
Arm (weakness) Can the person raise both arms? Is one weak?
Speech Is their speech slurred or muddled?
Time to call 999
A Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) is often referred to as a “mini stroke”. The
symptoms are very similar to those of a
stroke but the difference is that they resolve completely.
A TIA can last for minutes to hours, but not longer than 24
hours. If the symptoms persist for longer than 24 hours then the event is called a stroke.
TIAs are caused by the blood supply to the brain being interrupted for a short period
of time only.
TIAs are an important warning sign that all is not well with the blood supply to the
brain. The risk of suffering a
stroke within the first month after a TIA is around 12 %, with about half of all strokes occurring
within the first 24
hours following TIA.
The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa (see picture right)
Therefore, a stroke which occurs in the right side of the brain will usually affect the left side of the body
When describing a stroke one should always specify that the stroke has affected the left or the right side of the brain
OR state which side the signs/symptoms are on.
Simply saying that a person has a right sided or left sided stroke is uninformative, since it is unclear whether you are
referring to the side of the symptoms or the brain lesion which caused them.
The brain is divided into several areas/lobes each responsible for carrying out different functions. Click on the
picture below to learn more about these. Instructions for navigating the diagram- once you have read the text click on
the side arrow to return the main diagram
A Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) is often referred to as a “mini stroke”. The
symptoms are very similar to those of a
stroke but the difference is that they resolve completely.
A TIA can last for minutes to hours, but not longer than 24
hours. If the symptoms persist for longer than 24 hours then the event is called a stroke.
TIAs are caused by the blood supply to the brain being interrupted for a short period
of time only.
TIAs are an important warning sign that all is not well with the blood supply to the
brain. The risk of suffering a
stroke within the first month after a TIA is around 12 %, with about half of all strokes occurring
within the first 24
hours following TIA.
Haemorrhagic strokes occur when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds. When an artery bleeds into the brain,
brain cells do not receive oxygen and nutrients. In addition, pressure builds up in surrounding tissues and swelling
occurs causing further cell death
Haemorrhages can be caused by a number of disorders which affect the blood vessels, including long-standing high blood
pressure and cerebral aneurysms. An aneurysm is a weak or thin spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms develop over a
number of years and usually don’t cause detectable problems until they burst
About 15% of strokes are caused by haemorrhage (RCP: National clinical guideline for stroke (2016))
.
Start 
