ABSTRACT
Significant proportions of 'stroke' admissions have been found to be a stroke mimic, and ways to increase diagnostic accuracy have been the focus of much work. Migraine is among the most common causes of severe headache, has a predilection for women, and can easily be mistaken for stroke due to focal neurological deficits associated with it, especially when aura is of acute onset or not associated with headache. The prevalence of epilepsy after stroke is thought to be 6–15%, and recurrent stroke may well be confused as seizure. Transient global amnesia is occasionally confused with stroke or transient ischemic attack. Space-occupying lesions, whether neoplastic or not, may present with a plethora of clinical manifestations, some of which may mimic stroke. Delirium may actually be the presenting feature of acute stroke and can complicate acute stroke in the phase. Dementia is a very distinct disorder and very occasionally might mimic stroke.
