In the United States, one stroke occurs every 40 seconds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When a person has a stroke, the disrupted blood flow from a blocked or burst blood vessel prevents oxygen from reaching brain cells in that area, causing the cells to die. As a result, stroke patients can have problems with essential brain functions, such as speech.
Aphasia
Some stroke patients may have aphasia, a speech condition in which patients have problems verbally expressing themselves. The Mayo Clinic states that if a person cannot repeat a simple sentence, he may have had a stroke. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association notes that a patient can have one of three types of aphasia: expressive aphasia, receptive aphasia or global aphasia. With expressive aphasia, also called Broca's aphasia, patients have problems using words. For example, a patient with expressive aphasia speaks using nonsense words. Receptive aphasia, also called Wernicke's aphasia, affects the patients' ability to understand language. As a result, when a patient with receptive aphasia speaks, he uses real words, but his sentences don't make sense or have any meaning. Patients with global aphasia have difficulty forming and comprehending language.
Dysarthria
Another speech problem that stroke patients may have is dysarthria, which affects the muscles in the tongue, lips and roof of the mouth, according to the American Heart Association. This muscular problem affects patients' ability to speak clearly. As a result, stroke patients with dysarthria have slurred or slowed speech that is difficult to understand. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association adds that patients may have apraxia as well, which affects the coordination of the lips and tongue. Apraxia also affects how clearly patients speak after a stroke.
Problems with Social Communication Skills
Besides affecting the mechanics of speech, a stroke also impairs patients' social communication skills, called pragmatics. For example, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association states that stroke patients have trouble interpreting sarcasm or humor. When speaking, patients have problems speaking with an appropriate tone. Stroke patients can have problems maintaining the conversation's topic and may switch topics without warning. A stroke can affect the emotional aspects of speech. For example, patients may have strange emotional responses when speaking, such as talking with no emotional affect or being overly emotional. In addition, stroke patients have little awareness of their abnormal emotional speech responses.
