Diagnosing Stroke To rule out a brain tumor or some other cause of your symptoms, your doctor can do a variety of tests. These imaging tests give doctors much better pictures of the brain than conventional X-rays. There are a variety of tests to make sure your blood is flowing normally to the brain. A blood test may be done to determine clotting factors, cholesterol level, and other values. An ultrasound examination of the heart may be used to look for possible heart abnormalities such as problems with the heart valves and abnormalities of the heart's ventricles that may cause blood clots to form.
Blood clots can travel through the blood vessels to the brain and cause a stroke.
Treating Stroke There is much you can do to help prevent a stroke. Talk to your doctor about making healthy changes in your diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle. He or she may also prescribe drugs to treat cholesterol, high blood pressure, or other heart problems that might lead to stroke. Surgery may be recommended if one of the main arteries is severely narrowed. If the affected artery is located in the neck, a procedure called carotid endarterectomy may be done to help improve blood supply to the brain.