slowly over days weeks or months it's a type of weakness where you're absolutely fine one minute and then you can't move the arm the next moment so it's abrupt onset because when that blood clot blocks off the blood flow suddenly the function stops doesn't mean the tissue dies right away but suddenly the function stops so the symptoms come on very quickly so somebody with left carotid stroke may not be able to speak or they may not be able to understand words so they may be able to make no words nonsense words or have trouble