Stroke occurs when there is a loss of blood supply to a part of the brain tissue. This can result in death of a variable-sized area of the brain. There are two ways brain tissue can be deprived of blood supply: a blood vessel can be either blocked by a blood clot or the blood clot can burst, releasing blood that then compresses nearby brain tissue. There are several long-term effects that may be experienced after a stroke.
Speech
According to the Harvard Medical School Patient Education Center, speech improvement in stroke patients is highest in the first few days following the event. The National Stroke Association says that many patients experience problems understanding and using words after stroke. The medical term for this affliction is aphasia. The patient may have trouble in some or all aspects of communication: speaking, understanding spoken words or even reading and writing. While aphasia is very frustrating, the National Stroke Association urges those affected to have hope as sometimes the condition continues to improve for months or even years.
Walking and Mobility
If the stroke affects the motor center in the brain, movement can be impaired. This effect usually manifests as hemiparesis, or weakness of the affected half of the body, or hemiplegia, complete paralysis of one half of the body. According to the National Stroke Association, approximately 80 percent of stroke survivors have some sort of muscular weakness on one side of the body. If the stroke was in the left half of the brain, the patient has trouble moving the right side of his body and vice-versa.
Strokes also may affect the patients' balance. Damage to the brain stem, the lowermost part of the brain, can have notorious effects on coordination, balance and the ability to walk. The American Stroke Association estimates that 40 percent of stroke survivors experience a serious fall during the first year after stroke. Muscular power and balance can be significantly improved with diligent dedication to professional physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Pain
Many stroke survivors suffer from some post-stroke pain for days to weeks after the stroke. The National Stroke Association estimates that about 10 percent of stroke patients suffer from varying degrees of pain. The type of pain that persists months to years after the stroke is known as central pain syndrome or thalamic pain. The National Stroke Association explains that this pain is of unimaginable intensity, resulting from the damaged brain's inability to decipher the different sensations sent by the body; it interprets everything as pain. This thalamic pain is usually very hard to treat, and does not respond well to over-the-counter pain killers. It can diminish quality of life to the point that sufferers may become depressed.
Personality and Emotional Changes
The National Stroke Association gives a detailed account of the potential long-term post-stroke complications that affect the patients' personality and emotional life. It describes a certain behavioral recklessness and misjudgment that stroke survivors with injury to the right side of the brain may suffer from, leading to risky behavior such as attempting to walk unaided. Stroke survivors with left-sided brain injury may become overly cautious and become slow and calculating in their daily behavior.
A patient may also experience emotional problems in the form of involuntary emotional expression disorder. In this condition, the sufferer may burst into tears for no apparent reason, or have intense emotional reactions at inappropriate moments.
