Usually stroke doesn't cause hearing loss, but survivors may not completely understand speech. They may have trouble saying what they're thinking, which is known as aphasia. Stroke can affect muscles used in talking, and speech can be slow or slurred. Chewing and swallowing can be a problem. Part of the mouth can lack feeling, increasing risk of choking.
Stroke can affect the ability to think clearly.
Planning and doing simple activities may be hard. Survivors may not know how to start a task, confuse logical steps in tasks, or forget how to do tasks they've done many times before. Stroke affects survivors directly, but families need to provide physical and emotional support. About 600,000 Americans a year suffer a stroke. Stroke kills more women than men.