treat and recover from a stroke | cdc.gov

Treatment for your stroke begins the moment emergency medical services (EMS) arrive to take you to the hospital.

Once in the hospital, you may receive emergency care, treatment to prevent another stroke, rehabilitation to treat the side effects of the stroke, or all three.

Learn more about how to recover from a stroke.

How is stroke treated?

on the way to the hospital

If someone you know shows signs of strokecall 9-1-1 immediately.

Do not drive to the hospital or let someone else drive you. Getting to the hospital quickly is the key to treatment and recovery from a stroke. Yet 1 in 3 stroke patients never call 9-1-1.¹

Calling an ambulance means that medical personnel can begin life-saving treatment on the way to the emergency room.

Stroke patients who are brought to hospital by ambulance may be diagnosed and treated more quickly than people who do not arrive by ambulance.¹ This is because emergency treatment begins on the way to the hospital. Emergency workers may take you to a specialized stroke center to ensure that you receive diagnosis and treatment as quickly as possible.

Emergency workers will also collect valuable information that will guide treatment and alert hospital medical staff before you arrive in the ER, giving them time to prepare.

learn more about the important role emergency medical services (EMS) play in improving stroke care.

At the hospital

At the hospital, health professionals will ask about your medical history and the time your symptoms began.

Brain scans will show what type of stroke you had. You may also work with a neurologist who treats brain disorders, a neurosurgeon who performs surgery on the brain, or a specialist in another area of ​​medicine.

Treatment of ischemic stroke

If you arrive at the hospital within 3 hours of the first symptoms of a Ischemic stroke, you may be given a type of medicine called a thrombolytic (a clot-busting drug) to dissolve blood clots. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is a thrombolytic.

tPA improves the chances of recovering from a stroke. Studies show that ischemic stroke patients who receive tPA are more likely to make a full recovery or have less disability than patients who do not receive the drug.²³ Patients treated with tPA are also less likely to need long-term care in a nursing home.⁴

Unfortunately, many stroke victims do not make it to the hospital in time for tPA treatment. That is why it is so important to recognize the Signs and symptoms stroke immediately and call 9-1-1.

Doctors can also treat ischemic stroke with other medications, such as blood thinners, as well as surgery to remove the clot.

Hemorrhagic Stroke Treatment

Other medications, surgery, or procedures may be needed to stop bleeding from hemorrhagic stroke and save brain tissue. For example,

Medicines, surgery, or other procedures may be needed to stop the bleeding and save brain tissue. For example:

• Endovascular procedures. Endovascular procedures, which can help repair a weak spot or break a blood vessel, can be used to treat certain hemorrhagic strokes. More information about the procedure.
• surgical treatment. Hemorrhagic strokes can be treated with surgery. If the bleeding is caused by a ruptured aneurysm, a metal clip may be placed to stop the blood loss.

Learn more about how stroke is treated at the hospital of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

What happens next?

If you have had a stroke, you are at high risk of having another stroke.

• 1 in 4 stroke survivors have another stroke within 5 years.⁵
• The risk of stroke within 90 days after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) can be as high as 17%, with the highest risk during the first week.⁶

That’s why it’s important to treat the underlying causes of stroke, including heart disease, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation (fast, irregular heartbeat), high cholesterol, and diabetes. Your doctor may give you medicine or tell you to change your diet, exercise, or adopt other healthy lifestyle habits. Surgery can also be helpful in some cases.

Stroke recovery: stroke rehabilitation

Rehabilitation after a stroke begins in the hospital, often within a day or two after the stroke. Rehabilitation helps ease the transition from hospital to home and can help prevent another stroke.

Recovery time after a stroke is different for everyone—it can take weeks, months, or even years. Some people make a full recovery, but others have long-term or lifelong disabilities.

Learn more about stroke rehabilitation from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

What to expect after a stroke

If you’ve had a stroke, you can go a long way toward regaining your independence. However, some problems may continue:

• Paralysis (inability to move some parts of the body), weakness, or both on one side of the body.
• Problems with thinking, awareness, attention, learning, judgment, and memory.
• Problems understanding or forming speech.
• Problems controlling or expressing emotions.
• Numbness or strange sensations.
• Pain in hands and feet that worsens with movement and changes in temperature.
• Problems chewing and swallowing.
• Problems with bladder and bowel control.
• Depression.

What is stroke rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation may include working with speech, physical, and occupational therapists.

• Speech therapy helps people who have trouble producing or understanding speech.
• Physical therapy uses exercises to help you relearn movement and coordination skills that you may have lost from the stroke.
• occupational therapy focuses on improving daily activities, such as eating, drinking, dressing, bathing, reading, and writing.

Therapy and medications can help with depression or other mental health conditions after a stroke. Joining a patient support group can help you adjust to life after a stroke. Talk to your health care team about local support groups or see an area medical center.

Support from family and friends can also help ease fear and anxiety after a stroke. Let your loved ones know how you are feeling and what they can do to help you.

Learn more about stroke rehabilitation from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

How can I prevent another stroke?

If you have had a stroke, you are at high risk of having another stroke. That’s why it’s important treat the causes of strokeincluding

Your doctor may prescribe medicine or tell you to change your diet, exercise, or adopt other healthy lifestyle habits. Surgery can also be helpful in some cases.

More information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Other Organizations