A stroke is a life threatening condition that takes place when there is a lack of oxygen to the brain that lasts more than 24 hours. If not enough oxygen is getting to the brain, cells in the brain begin to die which can lead to fatal injuries of the brain and even death. Some symptoms include: thunderclap headache, slurred speech and focal neurological disorders e.g. damaged eyesight. There are two types of strokes; ischaemic and haemorrhagic.

Ischaemic stroke happens when there is a decreased blood flow due to a blood clot and roughly 85% of all cases experience this type of stroke. Haemorrhagic stroke happens when there is bleeding due to a ruptured blood vessel causing blood to leak which puts a large amount of pressure on the brain cells and in turn damaging them. There are two types of haemorrhagic strokes such as: intracerebral haemorrhage (most common type and occurs when a vessel in brain bursts causing blood to leak to surrounding tissues) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (least common and is the bleeding on the surface of brain).

To spot a stroke you can use the widely used pneumonic "FAST"

Face (face lopsided, loss of function on 1 side)

Arms (can't lift both arms)

Speech (slurred)

Time (call 999 if you detect any of these symptoms)

Treatments for a stroke depend on which of the two strokes you have and the area in which the brain is affected. Those that have had an ischaemic stroke most commonly are treated by thrombolysis ("clot buster" medicine) which is a series of injections that contain alteplase which is used to dissolve blood clots in the brain. However thrombectomy treatment can also be used which physically removes the clots, allowing blood to flow to the brain. Patients that have had a haemorrhagic stroke often require surgery to remove any blood from that area and repair any damaged blood vessels. This is done using a procedure called craniotomy which is where an area of the skull is removed to allow direct access to the bleeding, making it easier for the surgeon to repair the blood vessels. Once the bleeding has stopped, the surgeon would replace the bone removed from skull with a permanent metal plate.