A stroke (cerebrovascular accident) occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients and causing brain cells to begin dying within minutes. Strokes are broadly classified as ischemic (caused by a blockage, such as a blood clot, in an artery supplying the brain) or hemorrhagic (caused by a blood vessel rupture and bleeding in or around the brain); both types result in sudden onset neurological deficits corresponding to the brain area affected. Common effects of stroke include weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, sensory loss, visual disturbances, cognitive impairments, and importantly for communication, aphasia (language loss from left-hemisphere strokes) or dysarthria (motor speech impairment) as well as dysphagia.
SLPs are integral to stroke rehabilitation – they assess and treat post-stroke communication disorders like aphasia (helping patients regain language skills or learn compensatory communication) and motor speech disorders, and they manage swallowing problems to ensure safety and adequate nutrition.
Campbell, Bruce C. V., and Pooja Khatri. “Stroke.” The Lancet 396 (2020)..
Brady, Marian C., Sara Kelly, Hazel J. Godwin, et al. “Speech and Language Therapy for Aphasia after Stroke.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2016).
