Study (the famous 61-year-old heart health
study that follows more than 5,000 residents
from Framingham, Massachusetts), they
discovered that 11 percent of participants
had su;ered a silent stroke.
National numbers may be even higher
than that, Fayad suggests. “Silent strokes are
common and could a;ect up to 30 percent
of the population; women are 30–40 percent
more likely to have a silent stroke than men
are,” he says.
Silent, but not without symptoms
A stroke occurs when a clot lodges in a
blood vessel in the brain and damages brain
tissue to the extent that symptoms ensue,
such as paralysis, cognitive di;culties,
or speech impairment, Fayad says. Silent
strokes, on the other hand, occur when a
clot blocks a tiny blood vessel deep in the
brain and causes no noticeable symptoms.
Silent strokes present
such mild symptoms,
they’re easy to ignore
or explain away.
“We call these strokes silent when we
can see the damage only by using imaging
studies,” Fayad says. However silent they
may be, these strokes cause subtle brain
damage that can diminish your memory
or reduce your thinking power.
Even if a silent stroke presents mild
symptoms, they’re easy to ignore or
explain away. Some common ones
people experience after a silent stroke
include a faint weakness on one side of
the body, mild sti;ness, or an episode >>
PHOTO: VEER
Silent stroke symptoms are so subtle that even if you
notice them, you may feel silly calling your doctor
to report them. What’s more, they’re easy to ignore
because they soon disappear.
“Your brain has backup power, and blood flow
reestablishes itself quickly,” so the symptoms may
pass as quickly as they came on, says Lawrence R.
Wechsler, M.D., professor of neurology and director
of the Stroke Institute at the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center.
But ignoring these symptoms blinds you to the
possibility that you may be at risk for a more serious
stroke, says Pierre Fayad, M.D., medical director of
neurology at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
“Your stroke risk doubles or quadruples after you’ve
had a silent stroke—independent of your other risk
factors,” he says. “A silent stroke is our most reliable
way to identify people who are at future risk and
allows us to treat and minimize their risk factors.”
According to the American Stroke Association,
these symptoms signal a true stroke. Less-severe
variations could signal a silent stroke. Let your doctor
know about these even if they seem minor. Be sure
to discuss your concern about silent strokes and ask
whether you should be tested.
If you experience even one of these symptoms of a
stroke, get help immediately.
• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg,
especially on one side of the body
• Confusion; trouble speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance
or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause
Risks of ignoring a silent stroke
HeartHealthyOnline.com
57
FYI
The only sure way to know whether you’ve had a silent stroke is to have a CT scan or an MRI.
“I don’t recommend that healthy people get an MRI, but doctors may order one if you’re older
and have memory loss,” says Sudha Seshadri, M.D., of Boston University School of Medicine.
