Stroke: Acute Care and Rehabilitation Planning

Recognising a stroke and acting fast

A stroke is a disruption of blood flow to part of the brain — either a blockage (ischaemic, the majority) or a bleed. The signs come on suddenly: face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech, vision loss on one side. In the acute phase, minutes matter, because clot-dissolving therapy and mechanical clot removal are only effective within a narrow time window.

International patients in China should know one number: 120, the medical emergency line. Major 3A hospitals in the four launch cities run stroke pathways with 24-hour CT availability. If you are with someone who may be having a stroke, note the time symptoms started — that single detail drives treatment decisions.

Acute treatment options

For ischaemic stroke, thrombolysis (clot-dissolving medication) is considered up to 4.5 hours after symptom onset, and mechanical thrombectomy — retrieving the clot through a catheter — can extend that window in selected patients. The team will run CT or MRI imaging, vessel imaging, and continuous monitoring in a stroke unit for the first days.

The acute stay is usually one to two weeks. The medical goals in that period are to prevent complications, control blood pressure and glucose, and start early mobilisation. Once stable, the conversation turns to the cause — narrowed neck vessels, atrial fibrillation, or other factors — and to secondary prevention medication.

The rehabilitation timeline

Recovery after stroke is a months-long process, not an event. Intensive rehabilitation — physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and swallowing therapy — is where Chinese inpatient rehabilitation units are frequently used by international patients: therapy sessions daily or twice daily, at a cost materially lower than private rehabilitation in many Western countries.

A typical inpatient rehabilitation stay runs three to six weeks, reviewed against measurable goals: walking distance, arm function, swallowing safety, speech clarity. Progress is usually fastest in the first three months, which is why arriving at rehabilitation early matters more than arriving rested.

Planning your return home

Before departure, request a full rehabilitation record: the admission and discharge assessments, therapy summaries, and the medication plan. Arrange a local continuation of therapy before you land — the Chinese team can provide a written programme your home therapist can build on. If the stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation or carotid narrowing, the follow-up imaging and medication schedule should be explicit in the discharge letter, because these decisions prevent the next event.