The Silent Stroke

Let’s look at what silent strokes are and specifically how they are diagnosed and treated. A stroke occurs when arteries in the brain become blocked or damaged to the point that oxygen-rich blood can’t be successfully delivered to cells in the brain. Without oxygen, these cells begin to die, resulting in damage to the affected parts of the brain. Most strokes cause symptoms like pain, numbness or weakness in parts of the body, confusion, or impaired vision, speech, or motor skills.

Silent strokes are different because they may not cause any symptoms. Or, the symptoms may be unusual or subtle, misleading a person into believing there’s nothing wrong or their symptoms are caused by something else. However, even without symptoms, a silent stroke is capable of causing permanent brain damage around the site where the stroke occurred. Many people don’t even become aware of having experienced a stroke until they have a brain scan that shows damage.

It’s estimated that about one-third of people over the age of 70 have experienced at least one silent stroke! In fact, silent strokes are more common than strokes that cause symptoms to appear.

Diagnosing Silent Strokes

Without symptoms displaying, it can be difficult to diagnose a silent stroke. Victims may not be diagnosed until months after the fact, during a routine brain scan.  Common scans include a CT (X-ray computed tomography) or a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

Immediately after a stroke, brain damage will appear on a CT or MRI scan.  This damage shows up as dark spots on an image and may indicate areas of dead brain cells or areas where bleeding has occurred. This is important because it allows a doctor to identify which type of stroke the patient has experienced, which affects the type of treatment they need.

The most common type of stroke is an ischemic stroke, caused by a blood clot that blocks an artery, limiting or entirely blocking blood flow.  Silent strokes are usually ischemic strokes. The other main type of stroke is a hemorrhagic stroke caused by a leaking or ruptured artery that causes bleeding in the brain.

If a person experiences an ischemic stroke, they will probably undergo a series of tests. These can include an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) to look for heart abnormalities or blood tests to check for any underlying conditions that may cause symptoms similar to a stroke