Although stroke is a disease of the brain, it can
affect the entire body. Some of the disabilities
that can result from a stroke include paralysis,
cognitive deficits, speech problems, emotional
difficulties, daily living problems, and pain.
Paralysis:
A common disability that results from stroke is
complete paralysis on one side of the body, called
hemiplegia. A related disability that is not
as debilitating as paralysis is one-sided weakness
or hemiparesis. The paralysis or weakness may
affect only the face, an arm, or a leg or may affect
one entire side of the body and face. A person who
suffers a stroke in the left hemisphere of the brain
will show right-sided paralysis or paresis.
Conversely, a person with a stroke in the right
hemisphere of the brain will show deficits on the
left side of the body. A stroke patient may have
problems with the simplest of daily activities, such
as walking, dressing, eating, and using the
bathroom. Motor deficits can result from damage to
the motor cortex in the frontal lobes of the brain
or from damage to the lower parts of the brain, such
as the cerebellum, which controls balance and
coordination. Some stroke patients also have trouble
swallowing, called dysphagia.
Cognitive deficits:
Stroke may cause problems with thinking,
awareness, attention, learning, judgment, and memory.
In some cases of stroke, the patient suffers a "neglect"
syndrome. The neglect means that a stroke patient
has no knowledge of one side of his or her body, or
one side of the visual field, or is unaware of the
deficit. A stroke patient may be unaware of his or
her surroundings, or may be unaware of the mental
deficits that resulted from the stroke.
Language deficits:
Stroke victims often have problems understanding
or forming speech. A deficit in understanding or
forming speech is called aphasia. Aphasia
usually occurs along with similar problems in
reading or writing. In most people, language
problems result from damage to the left hemisphere
of the brain. Slurred speech due to weakness or
incoordination of the muscles involved in speaking
is called dysarthria, and is not a problem
with language. Because it can result from any
weakness or incoordination of the speech muscles,
dysarthria can arise from damage to either side of
the brain.
Emotional deficits:
A stroke can lead to emotional problems. Stroke
patients may have difficulty controlling their
emotions or may express inappropriate emotions in
certain situations. One common disability that
occurs with many stroke patients is depression.
Post-stroke depression may be more than a general
sadness resulting from the stroke incident. It is a
clinical behavioral problem that can hamper recovery
and rehabilitation and may even lead to suicide.
Post-stroke depression is treated as any depression
is treated, with antidepressant medications and
therapy.
Pain:
Stroke patients may experience pain,
uncomfortable numbness, or strange sensations after
a stroke. These sensations may be due to many
factors including damage to the sensory regions of
the brain, stiff joints, or a disabled limb. An
uncommon type of pain resulting from stroke is
called central stroke pain or central pain
syndrome (CPS). CPS results from damage to an
area in the mid-brain called the thalamus. The pain
is a mixture of sensations, including heat and cold,
burning, tingling, numbness, and sharp stabbing and
underlying aching pain. The pain is often worse in
the extremities - the hands and feet - and is made
worse by movement and temperature changes,
especially cold temperatures. Unfortunately, since
most pain medications provide little relief from
these sensations, very few treatments or therapies
exist to combat CPS.
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