Women are more commonly affected than men, and people of African origin are also at increased risk, possibly because they are more likely to have high blood pressure. Intensive rehabilitation therapy, including physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy are usually needed. Depression is a common problem after stroke, and good psychological and drug treatments are essential to help recovery. After decades of being viewed as a fairly hopeless condition where little positive could be done, new approaches are at last starting to make some impact on recovery rates from stroke. For example, researchers have shown for the first time in humans that rehabilitation therapy may help a stroke survivor's brain rewire itself, leading to regained use of a previously unused limb.
Children too can have a stroke, especially a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
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