What happens for people after a stroke is different for everybody. It depends on what sort of stroke a person has had and where in the brain the stroke has happened. Different people will recover in different ways. Generally, most of the recovery takes place in the first six months after a stroke. However, people can keep improving for many years. For many people, they get better as they get used to living with the changes that have happened after the stroke.

The care that people get after stroke is also different. Some people will be cared for in a hospital and go to another hospital for rehabilitation. Some people will go home after a very short period of time while others may need months of rehabilitation.

When someone has a stroke, the doctors and the team will need to work out what has happened (diagnosis). Then the team works with the person and his or her family to make sure the best recovery happens. The team will also make sure that each stroke survivor is able to get the support he or she needs at home.

View a list of Australian Public Hospitals with stroke units (pdf)

Stroke units provide the best treatment for acute stroke.

Specalised stroke unit care is provided in hospitals by doctors, nurses and rehabilitation clinicians, such as physiotherapists, in a coordinated and focused way, much like a coronory care unit.