The symptoms of a stroke come on very quickly and can be very severe. The main stroke symptoms can be remembered with the word FAST:

Face: the face may have dropped on one side, the person may not be able to smile, or their mouth or eye may have drooped.	Arms: the person may not be able to lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in one arm.	Speech: their speech may be slurred or garbled, or the person may not be able to talk at all despite appearing to be awake.	Time: it's time to dial 999 immediately if you notice any of these signs or symptoms.

Other symptoms can include:

• Sight: sudden loss of sight in one or both eyes 
• Memory: sudden loss of memory 
• Confusion: sudden new confusion 
• Pain: sudden very severe headache 

Strokes can also cause dizziness and falls, although this is less common. The symptoms of a TIA are the same but will disappear within a day. 

How is stroke diagnosed? 

Brain scans 

A stroke is a medical emergency, so people who may have had a stroke are taken straight to hospital. The diagnosis is usually made with an urgent brain scan on arrival at hospital. CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans are the commonest sorts of scan.

Some people have both and may also need more scans that are particularly good at showing the blood vessels in the brain. These are called computed tomography angiograms (CTAs) or magnetic resonance angiograms (MRAs) 

The scans show:  

• if a person has had a stroke 
• what sort of stroke it is 
• which areas of the brain are affected 
• how to treat the stroke 

The stroke team will also arrange tests to work out why the stroke happened such as; 

ECG (electrocardiogram)	a recording of the electrical activity of the heart to look for atrial fibrillation and other abnormalities of heart rhythm.
Echocardiogram	a heart scan to look for any problems with the structure of the heart and heart valves. An echocardiogram is similar to the ultrasound scan that pregnant women have.
Doppler ultrasound of the neck	a scan to look for any narrowing in the arteries in the neck. A doppler is also similar to the ultrasound scan that pregnant women have.