silent stroke
Unnoticed brain damage
A silent stroke is a stroke that occurs without noticeable symptoms—no sudden weakness, slurred speech, or confusion.
These strokes are typically discovered incidentally on brain imaging done for other reasons.
Though the person feels nothing at the time, silent strokes cause real damage and increase the risk of future strokes and cognitive decline.
The MRI revealed evidence of a silent stroke she never knew she'd had.
- infarctDead tissue from blocked artery
- brainSeat of cognition
- brain scanMedical image of mind's organ
- undetectedNot discovered yet
- hiddenKept out of sight
symptom · MRI · lesion · white matter · vessel · clot · cognitive · cognitive decline · memory · memory loss · aging · vascular · dementia · blockage · artery · blood vessel · cerebral · scan