What Happens During a Stroke?
A stroke usually happens suddenly, and a person having a stroke has several of these signs: • numbness or weakness on one side of the body • a very bad headache • dizziness • loss of balance or coordination • trouble talking or understanding what people are saying • trouble seeing Anyone who has even one of these symptoms should get to the hospital right away. The first thing a doctor will do is make sure the person is not in immediate danger, like making sure he or she can breathe. Next, the doctor will want to figure out what’s causing this problem. The doctor can run tests on the heart and brain. If it looks like a stroke, doctors usually get a CT scan, a special kind of X-ray of the brain. This test can show the doctor what part of the brain has been affected and how big the stroke is.
