How Long After A Stroke Can A Ct Scan Detect It

[Thunderchild]

I got a call from my dad last night at midnight. He had got up from watching a film and could not stay on his feet. I cam round and he asked me to take him to hospital. He could support his weight but he could not keep his balance and said his head felf like it had been hit with a hammer ie a dull pain.

After going through the routines of blood samples etc and moving from doctor to doctor (Frankly i found it very inneficient as no single person followed him right through the process so we had to keep explaining things and no one got to observe him over a reasonable period of time).

By 3 oclock he was eventually (after i pestered) seen by what seemed to be a very competent doctor but with language barriers so making sure he understood all of what she said (I did infact have to point out that while she was asking if his numb lip was old or new he was under he though she was saying odd so a total loss of information could occur).

She had him have a CT scan but that was not until 3:30 and it found nothing, she suspected a stroke and he has already had a couple of small ones but they found nothing. What I wonder is can the effects dissapere after 3+ hours ?

[campbellking]

If he'd had a TIA (transient ischaemic attack) otherwise known as a 'mini-stroke' the effects may well have dispersed within that time frame.

[Sqad]

In the investigation of a "stroke" a CT scan will only show bleeding and most strokes are due to clotting which will only show up on "specialised CT scans which your Dad didn't have.

Usually, the physical signs of a stroke caused by a clot makes the diagnosis so obvious that a CT scan is not needed.

I agree with the post of campbelking, the likely diagnosis is TIA and yes, the effects may only be transient.

[Sqad]

Thank you campelking and sqad for taking the time to answer my concern regarding my fathers medical condition.
No problem Thunderchild.