Medical Complications Post Stroke

Medical issues post stroke are those which are within the domain of the doctor and the nurses, but are unrelated to secondary stroke prevention. Not only do these complications occur relatively frequently, but they have also been shown to contribute to poor outcome. As such, an understanding of these disorders is critically important to stroke care and management.
Although the number of potential medical complications is extensive, this chapter will focus on five of the most common and clinically relevant: dysphagia, venous thromboembolism, seizures, and central pain states. Both short-term and long-term complications will be evaluated.