Neck Pain
As already described, a common symptom of stroke is a sudden onset of severe headache. This can sometimes be accompanied by neck pain. The neck pain can also be unilateral, often on the side where the headache occurs. Headaches and neck pain are more typical of a cerebral haemorrhage, and a cerebral infarction can also occur without headaches and neck pain.
Can nosebleeds be a sign of a stroke?
Nosebleed is not a direct symptom of a stroke. However, frequent nosebleeds can be a warning that must be taken seriously: frequent nosebleeds can have many causes. Two major causes, which are also important for strokes, are high blood pressure and coagulation disorders.
If high blood pressure persists, this can manifest itself in nosebleeds, among other things. However, it is also a clear risk for a stroke, because if blood pressure is permanently too high, the brain vessels are also damaged over time and a cerebral hemorrhage can occur. If there are congenital or acquired coagulation disorders, this means that in the event of bleeding it cannot be stopped so quickly: the clumping of blood platelets and the closure of damaged blood vessels to stop bleeding is slowed down. This can also manifest itself in frequent and also prolonged and increased nosebleeds. If damage occurs in a brain vessel, this would also mean lighter, stronger and longer bleeding into the brain tissue.
How symptoms manifest themselves in men
Stroke in men is usually more typical of the symptoms than in women. Accordingly, the most common symptoms already listed here, such as hemiplegia and speech disorders, are generally true. As a result, on average men are diagnosed with strokes more quickly and the time to start treatment is shorter.
This is how the symptoms manifest themselves in women
The symptoms of women who suffer a stroke often differ from those of men in that they tend to be atypical symptoms, making diagnosis more difficult. In addition to the classic typical symptoms such as paralysis, speech and vision problems and dizziness, women also experience non-specific symptoms such as headaches and aching limbs, nausea and vomiting, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath and confusion. If these unspecific symptoms occur on their own, it is sometimes not so easy to promptly or quickly raise the suspicion of a stroke and initiate the appropriate diagnosis and therapy.
