Symptoms of an ischemic stroke

Symptoms of a stroke caused by a blood clot vary from one person to another. But symptoms usually occur in the side of the body opposite from the side of the brain where the clot occurred. For example, a stroke in the right side of the brain affects the left side of the body. General symptoms of a stroke include:

• Sudden numbness, paralysis, or weakness in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of your body.
• New problems with walking or balance.
• Sudden vision changes.
• Drooling or slurred speech.
• New problems speaking or understanding simple statements, or feeling confused.
• A sudden, severe headache that is different from past headaches.

A stroke may instead progress over hours or days, usually in a stepwise fashion. For example, mild weakness can change abruptly to an inability to move the arm and leg on one side of the body.

Symptoms of an ischemic stroke may be so minor that they are ignored or go unnoticed.

Some ischemic strokes are preceded by strokelike symptoms called transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). These may occur months before the stroke.

• Symptoms of a TIA are similar to those of an ischemic stroke, except the loss of vision in a TIA is usually described as a feeling that a shade is being pulled down over one or both eyes.
• Symptoms caused by a TIA are temporary and improve usually within 10 to 20 minutes, but they can last longer.

For more information, see the topic Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA).