What actually happens during a stroke — and why minutes matter

A stroke is a plumbing problem with devastating consequences. In the most common type, a clot blocks an artery supplying the brain, and the tissue downstream begins to die.\n\n**The FAST test** remains the best public tool: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call emergency services.\n\nOnce a patient reaches us, a CT scan determines whether the stroke is caused by a clot or a bleed. Clot-caused strokes can be treated with thrombolysis within 4.5 hours, and with mechanical thrombectomy in selected patients up to 24 hours.\n\nRecovery is not only about the acute treatment. Early mobilisation, speech therapy and occupational therapy in the first three months determine much of the long-term outcome.