Stroke symptoms typically develop very rapidly (seconds to minutes). In some patients, the stroke occurs during sleep, and the symptoms of stroke are only noticed on waking up from stroke. The symptoms a patient has depend on the anatomical location of the damage. As different portions of the brain control different parts of the body, the nature and the severity of the symptoms can vary widely.

The symptoms of stroke include:

• Weakness and numbness of the face, arm and leg of one side of the body;
• Speech difficulties
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Difficulty in walking steadily
• Sudden severe giddiness
• Very severe headache
• Increasing drowsiness, with possible loss of consciousness
• Confused state