A silent stroke or a symptomless cerebrovascular infraction is a stroke that doesn’t have recognizable symptoms that we commonly associate with strokes like slurry speech, weak arm, and facial drooping.
It may happen when a person is awake or asleep and cause brain damage which may have a long-term effect on one’s movement, speech, thinking, or memory.
Unfortunately, silent strokes may go unidentified for weeks, months, and even years until it’s accidentally discovered on a brain scan.
This is why it’s essential to increase the awareness of silent strokes and to know which are the revealing symptoms so that you can react timely, get a diagnosis, and receive proper treatment that will prevent further damage.
Let’s learn more!
Silent Strokes Explained
Silent strokes are more common than classic strokes. The American Heart Association notes that between 8 and 11 million individuals in the US have a silent stroke every year. And, by the age of 80, one in four individuals will have had one or more than one silent stroke.
A silent stroke is characterized by a brain injury in a specific area and the total or almost total absence of any symptoms. A lot of people who experience a silent stroke will never know that they had it and may go through life without any symptoms or consequences.
However, other people may have long-term symptoms and they may not realize that the symptoms are a consequence of a silent stroke. Unfortunately, a study done in 2016 published in the Stroke concluded that a silent stroke increases one’s risk of another stroke in the future by more than twofold in comparison to the general population.
Anyone can have a silent stroke, though they’re more common in older people. This is why many of the symptoms are often confused with the symptoms of aging, like loss of balance and coordination, loss of vision in one eye, speech problems, slowed mental or physical response, memory issues, mood changes, and personality changes.
A silent stroke differs from a mini-stroke. Mini strokes or transient ischemic attacks are brief stroke-like attacks whose symptoms go away within minutes to hours. Unlike a silent stroke that’s associated with long-term brain damage, a person may recover fully without permanent damage from a mini-stroke.
10 Symptoms That May Indicate That You Had a Silent Stroke
In most cases, it’s unlikely to know for sure that you have suffered a silent stroke unless you undergo a CT scan or an MRI. The brain scanning may show small, white spots that indicate lesions. Unfortunately, strokes that don’t leave behind damage that’s noticeable may contribute to the condition remaining undiagnosed and untreated.
When you don’t know what to look for, you could mistake the symptoms for another condition that’s less threatening. With this in mind, it’s essential to increase awareness about the major signals of a silent stroke and to encourage taking the necessary tests to get diagnosed and receive proper treatment.
When diagnosed, a silent stroke requires appropriate treatment that includes meds and lifestyle changes to avert further strokes.
Below, check out the 10 potential symptoms that could indicate a silent stroke:
- Loss of vision
- Loss of strength
- Loss of sensation
- Problems with cognitive skills and abilities
- Temporary loss of muscle movement, bladder included
- A sudden lack of balance
- Speech problems
- A sudden change in mood
- A sudden change in personality
- Slower mental or physical responses
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