Glossary

• Activities of daily living

  Refers to activities that people normally undertake (eg bathing, dressing, feeding themselves).

• Acupuncture

  A complementary medicine that involves inserting thin needles into the skin.

• Acute stroke service

  Consists of: a) a comprehensive stroke centre (CSC) providing hyperacute, acute and inpatient rehabilitation including thrombectomy (thrombectomy centre) and neurosurgery; or b) an acute stroke centre (ASC) providing hyperacute, acute and inpatient rehabilitation.  All components of a specialist acute stroke service should be based in a hospital that can investigate and manage people with acute stroke and their medical and neurological complications.  

• Aerobic exercise

  Low- to moderate-intensity exercise that can be sustained for long periods of time (e.g. cycling, swimming or walking).

• Agnosia

  The inability for a patient to recognise or make proper sense of sensory information.

• Alteplase

  A medicine used for thrombolysis.

• Aneurysm

  A bulge in the wall of a blood vessel that is filled with blood. This can burst and cause a haemorrhage.

• Angiography

  A technique that uses X-ray technology to image blood vessels.

• Anticoagulants

  A group of medicines used to reduce the risk of clots by thinning the blood.

• Antiphospholipid syndrome

  Sometimes called ‘sticky blood syndrome’ because blood clots form too quickly; this is due to antibodies against the body’s phospholipid part of every cell in the body.

• Antiplatelets

  A group of medicines used to prevent the formation of clots by stopping platelets in the blood sticking together.

• Antithrombotics

  The generic name for all medicines that prevent the formation of blood clots. This includes antiplatelets and anticoagulants.

• Aphasia

  Communication difficulties after a stroke which can affect a person’s speech, processing, reading and writing.

• Arterial dissection

  This is caused as a result of a small tear forming in the lining of the arterial wall.

• Atherosclerosis

  Fatty deposits that harden on the inner wall of the arteries (atheroma) and roughen its surface; this makes the artery susceptible to blockage either by narrowing or by formation of a blood clot.

• Atrial fibrillation

  A heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat, often faster than the normal heart rate.

• Audit (clinical)

  A method of evaluating the performance of a clinical service against a set of standards/criteria.