Acute Stroke – Diagnosis and Management

Stroke (noun): a sudden disabling attack... caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain, especially through thrombosis. Stroke is a considerable cause of mortality and morbidity in the UK. The field of stroke medicine has changed considerably in recent years with the development of hyper-acute treatments such as thrombolysis, specialist stroke units and a better understanding of secondary prevention. Mortality rates may have decreased but diagnostics have become more sensitive and it is not clear whether incidence of stroke is falling overall. It is predominantly a problem of advancing age and many of those suffering a stroke will be from the older age bracket. This often raises interesting challenges in the diagnosis and management process due to the complex needs of the patient in the bed. This article will review the tools available to assist in the systematic assessment and treatment of people with a suspected stroke.