Stroke

Question 1

What are the symptoms of a stroke?

Answer 1

• vomiting
• headache
• loss of consciousness
• neck stiffness
• fit
• incontinence
  Loss of
• power
• speech
• sensation
• vision
• coordination

Question 2

What are the signs of a stroke?

Answer 2

• clumsy limb
• dysarthria/dysphaxia
• visuospatial problems
• vision loss in one eye
• gaze palsy
• ataxia
• vertigo
• incoordination
• nystagmus

Question 3

What investigations would you do for stroke?

Answer 3

• FBC
• ECG
• MRI
• CT
• carotid doppler
• echo

Question 4

In what situation would an MRI be better than a CT?

Answer 4

If ischaemic stroke is suspected - shows better on MRI than CT

Question 5

What are the treatments for a stroke?

Answer 5

• admittance to stroke unit
• thrombolysis if caught early
• hemicraniectomy
• carotid endarectomy

Secondary prevention

• aspirin/clopidogrel 75mg + dipyridamole
• statins
• BP drugs even if BP is within normal range