Can you survive a stroke without receiving medical attention ?

Question

I mean a real stroke, not a "mini-stroke" .

Answer 1

It depends on the severity of the stroke and which side of the brain is affected, if it is the part that regulates your breathing then no way, The sooner you do get help the better the outcome. All the hospital can do for you within the first few weeks is oxygen and depending if the stroke is caused by a clot or a burst blood vessel they give you asprin. More hospitals are now bringing in a treatment called thrombolisis (excuse spelling) where if they know for certain what time it happened you have a small window of time for it to work and it sort of stops the damage.

The loss of oxygen in the affected part of the brain does not just do instant damage but the cells die for a while afterwards too.

If you do manage to survive the stroke without medical attention then you would still need help as your swallow reflex almost always goes, at least for a while and you could choke. Then you would need rehabilitation and physio.Bladder control is also a problem.

Can I ask why you are asking? It seems a rather odd question.

Answer 2

Yes, but you would probably have a poor quality of life and need help to care for yourself from someone, be it family or friends.