Whichever treatment the person with stroke is given they will be carefully monitored thoughout their hospital stay. A simple ultrasound test, called a Doppler scan, is carried out twice during the first month to check the veins in the legs for clots. The Doppler scan takes about 30 minutes and causes little discomfort. If this scan shows a clot the doctor may organize another X-ray and may treat the person with a blood thinning or anticoagulant drug.

The patient leaves the hospital when the doctor thinks they are well enough to go home and the timing of the discharge is not influenced by taking part in the study. A few months later the patient is sent a questionnaire to find out how they are doing. If the patient does not respond they are telephoned to find out how they are. In addition, the patient's GP provides a brief report on how they have got on.The patient can of course decline to be followed up although this does reduce the power of the study.

The questionnaire you will receive 6 months after your stroke