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How Stroke Affects You
How your stroke affects you depends on:
- Which part of your brain was damaged
- How severe your stroke was
- Your age and general health before your stroke
Impact of the location of your stroke
The location of your stroke will dictate:
- Which side of your body is affected i.e. the opposite side of your body to your brain
- Which functions will be affected
The left side of your brain normally controls reading, writing, speaking and understanding. So you are more likely to have speech problems if your stroke affects the right side of your body.
The right side of your brain controls art, music and maths.
Movement, sensation, vision, hearing and memory are controlled by both sides of the brain. Therefore these functions can be affected whichever side of the brain is damaged.
Common effects / symptoms
There are many different effects of stroke and you may only experience some of them. Everyone's stroke will be different even if they are of the same type.
The most common effects are:
- Weakness, clumsiness, heaviness or paralysis down one side of your body: this may affect an arm or leg, one side of your face, or the whole of one side of your body
- Communication problems: written, spoken, reading, understanding, calculating numbers
- Difficulty swallowing
- Disturbed vision or eye problems
- Continence problems i.e. loss of bladder / bowel control
- Tiredness
- Numbness / sensation problems
- Balance upset , dizziness
- Psychological effects: mood swings, behaviour, anxiety, depression
- Cognitive effects: poor concentration, memory and thinking problems e.g. the ability to process information
Other less common effects include:
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