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Posted on Aug 09, 2005, 8 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
People with strokes affecting the right side of the brain may be going undiagnosed and untreated, experts say. German research in The Lancet found left-sided stroke patients were more likely to be admitted to hospital and treated promptly than counterparts. Signs of a right-sided stroke may be harder to spot because they do not typically affect speech, unlike left-sided strokes.
German research in The Lancet found left-sided stroke patients were more likely to be admitted to hospital and treated promptly than counterparts.
Signs of a right-sided stroke may be harder to spot because they do not typically affect speech, unlike left-sided strokes.
Both types of stroke have similar impacts on day-to-day living, however.
Right or left?
Prompt treatment is key to improving outcomes and survival, making early detection of paramount importance.
The right half of the brain is responsible for perceptual skills - making sense of what you see, hear and touch - and spatial skills - judging depth, size, distance or position in space.
This means the signs and symptoms of a stroke in this area of the brain may be more subtle, such as the individual having a problem with awareness.
Stroke is one of the biggest killers and the largest single cause of serious adult disability in the UK.
One person every five minutes will suffer a first stroke.
Dr Christian Foerch and colleagues at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt looked at stroke data for over 20,000 patients between 1997 and 2002.
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