Treatments for Stroke

The treatment and management of stroke involves enormous commitments of time and personnel. After procedures and medicine, the focus of treatment shifts to rehabilitation.

Having a stroke may dramatically change your lifestyle. But the changes are so varied that they cannot be predicted even after the acute event. You may recover completely from a stroke days, weeks, or months later. A stroke can leave you permanently impaired or the effects may be minimal. The days and weeks after your first stroke may be an entirely new world to you, a world of hard work to recover and retrain whatever functions the stroke deprived you of—speech, walking, use of an arm or leg—and to redirect your life so that you can profit most from your remaining abilities.

Treatment involves the following:

Lifestyle changes Medications Surgery Other treatments—rehabilitation

References

Kasper DL, Braunwald E, Fauci A, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine . 16th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2004.

National Stroke Association website. Available at: http://www.stroke.org/ .

Revision Information

Reviewer: Rimas Lukas, MD
Review Date: 09/2012
Update Date: 00/91/2012

This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.