My Father Is 86 Years Old And He Seemed A

Posted on Fri, 22 Mar 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : my father is 86 years old and he seemed a little confused earlier, saying things that didn't make sense. I checked the signs of a stroke and that is the only one he meets. He had just woken up from a nap when this happened. Could it be related? Could he still be having a stroke?

Answered by Dr. Aaron Branch (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Could be a stroke or some other concerning pathology

Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch,
Thanks for using 'Ask A Doctor' service.

Anytime an elderly patient has symptoms of altered mental status or confusion, we would be concerned because this may be the only sign of something serious going on.

Sometimes it can be as simple as a side effect of one of his medications, but it could also be the initial sign of a serious infection (without a fever this would be less likely but still possible), or of a stroke as you had mentioned.

Occasionally patients can have a stroke without any weakness and their body, and the only sign is confusion, and these strokes may resolve on their own, but they remain at high risk for a larger stroke in the future.

For these reasons, I would recommend that you bring your father to be evaluated, to confirm that there is nothing else on the exam to suggest a stroke and to determine what the cause of his confusion was in order to make sure there is nothing serious that needs to be treated quickly.

I hope that helps.
Please let me know if you have any other questions, I would be glad to discuss it with you further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee