Though many people don't know it, the brain is fairly resilient and it is often able to bounce back relatively well  after a stroke.   I have seen people recover to near-normal shape from extensive strokes ,and even from other forms of severe brain damage.  Multiple factors can speed recovery, including adequate rehabilitation, nutrition, and prompt treatments. However, in-hospital complications after stroke can also slow down and sometimes even halt recovery.

Some of these factors include, infections, respiratory problems, and swallowing difficulties. For a long time it has also been suspected that fever can have a negative impact on recovery, and studies are slowly beginning to confirm this.

This is the case with a recent study by the Virtual International Stroke Trial Archive (VISTA) investigators, who compared the outcomes of ischemic stroke patients who were affected by high body temperatures in the acute period of their stroke.

The study  found that high body temperatures, (i.e., hyperthermia) defined as higher than 37.2 degrees Celcius, predicted a poor outcome.   It mattered when in the first week after stroke the high temperatures occurred, with later, rather than earlier, fevers leading to a worse outcome.

The results suggest that neurologists and other doctors treating acute stroke patients in the hospital should implement aggressive measures to suppress fevers and to cool down the body temperature in patients in the first week after stroke.

After a stroke many people complain that their brain capacity is just "not the same". They simply aren't as "quick witted as they used to be", and they forget names more easily. Though there is no miracle cure for that feeling of slow mental function, and NO medicines that can help, there is one thing you can do to sharpen your mind: Exercise. Yes, plane old exercise will surely make your brain work better.

This is a concept that over the years has been tested over and over again, and time and time again it shows positive results. Exercise makes blood flow faster through your brain, bringing essential nutrients, and removing the harmful toxic byproducts of your brain's metabolism a lot more frequently - yes, your brain makes a whole lot of toxic waste just by thinking, and having an inefficient clean-up system is a sure way to worsen your brain function over time. I strongly recommend a book called "Brain Rules", by Dr John Medina, who quite nicely summarizes the research that has made this concept evolve over the years in his first chapter.

Other recommended reading
Long Term Effects of Stroke
Six Ways to Stay Stroke Free
Blood Thinners and Their Side Effects

By definition a TIA is a brief episode of a given neurological abnormality that resolves on its own, and by definition, TIA sufferers recover completely within a few minutes (or a few hours, at the most). No big deal then, right? Actually this is a big, big deal as the studies have shown over and over again that a TIA is a warning sign that a stroke is about to happen. And the problem is that patients and many medical professionals fail to acknowledge the significance of the event.

This is why a key aspect in the care given to TIA patients is performing a full medical workup rapidly after the TIA occurs. This is done with the intention of looking for potential sources of stroke, such as blood clots inside the heart, cholesterol plaques in the carotid arteries, and atherosclerotic plaques inside the brain's blood vessels.

And not surprisingly, stroke hospitals (those with stroke units) appear to be better than other hospitals at doing this. This is probably due to the presence of stroke experts in their facilities, which guarantees that patients with TIAs undergo rapid and thorough testing. This was shown in a recent article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Recommended Reading:
Difference between TIA and Silent Stroke
What is a TIA
Stroke Symptoms
Stroke Hospitals

Stroke in pregnancy is an extremely rare event. However, when it occurs, it does in the context of high blood pressure, sinus thrombosis, or reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS). Yet another cause is the Call Phleming syndrome, in which areas of blood vessels suffering from severe vasoconstriction cause bleeding in the brain.

And the usual suspects also tend to increase the risk of stroke in pregnancy. Thus, women who smoke, who are older, or who already suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, tend to have an increased risk of stroke during pregnancy.

Recommended reading
What is a stroke?
What is a mini stroke?
Stroke Risk Factors