LEFT SIDED STROKE VS RIGHT SIDED STROKE

The brain is made up of two sides or hemispheres. Stroke, in most cases, affects one side of the brain, which means that stroke to the left side of the brain affects the right side of the body and stroke to the right side of the brain affects the left side of the body.

There are various changes that may happen after a stroke. Some problems are typical to right-sided stroke, some left-sided stroke, and some problems are common to either side.

Changes Typical To Right-Sided Stroke:

Affects the left side of the body

• Dimensional problems:

Judgment regarding size, distance, position, etc. may be affected. For example, the patient may have trouble judging how far or near an object is to the body.

• Neglect of the left side:

The patient may not be able to see things on the left side of the body, which means that recognizing things that are on the left side and looking towards the left side is affected.

• Brief attention span:

The patient will have trouble focusing and also have very short attention span, and hence will have problems holding conversations and doing tasks.

• Difficulty in following instructions:

The patient may have problem answering multiple questions and may have trouble with following instructions. Hence, the patient might end up repeating the answers and also performing the same movements although a different instruction is given.

• Poor decision making and denial about disability:

The patient may have poor decision making skills and also lack insight into the changes in ability after the stroke, which can lead to safety concerns.

• Anomia:

The patient might have difficulty with face and object recognition of even people known to them and familiar objects.

• Short-term memory loss:

The patient may experience short-term memory loss. Although, there may be no trouble recalling an event that happened way back, he may have difficulty remembering events that happened just some time back.

• Paralysis of the left side of the body:

The patient experiences left-sided paralysis due to the stroke that has affected the right side.

Changes Typical To Left-Sided Stroke:

Affects the right side of the body.

• Aphasia:

The patient might have trouble speaking, listening, understanding, reading, writing, dealing with numbers, and also have difficulty in finding words when speaking or writing.

• Neglect of the right side:

The patient may not be able to see things on the right side of the body, which means that recognizing things that are on the right side and looking towards the right side is affected.

• Slow, cautious and compulsive behaviour:

The patient may be very slow and careful in his/her movement. Many verbal instructions and extra time are needed to get a task done.

• Memory issues:

The patient may have trouble remembering and also learning new tasks may be a challenge.

• Apraxia:

The patient might have difficulty translating ideas and performing function into action.

• Paralysis of the right side of the body:

The patient experiences right-sided paralysis due to the stroke that has affected the left side of the brain.