The brain isn't the only place a stroke can occur

Sudden, painless loss of vision. Burning back pain. Achy legs. Incontinence.

People might not recognize these as signs of a stroke, because some are not the symptoms of a stroke in the brain, where most strokes occur. But strokes can happen in other parts of the body, too, said Dr. Matthew Schrag, an assistant professor of neurology and vascular neurologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sudden, total vision loss in one eye may signal a stroke in the eye. Back pain, aching legs and incontinence, along with paralysis, weakness and loss of pain or the ability to feel temperature, signal a stroke in the spine. Though rare, these strokes, just like those in the brain, are serious and require immediate medical attention, Schrag said.

"They present special challenges and can be harder to recognize, but are theoretically treatable," he said.

The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association define stroke as an obstruction of blood supply to the brain, spinal cord or retina that causes cell death. When strokes occur in the brain, symptoms may include numbness in the face, weakness in arms or legs, especially on one side of the body, trouble speaking or understanding speech, vision problems, lack of coordination or a sudden, severe headache.

But blood supply can be obstructed almost anywhere in the body, said Dr. Lucia Sobrin, a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

A stroke in the eye – known as central retinal artery occlusion, or CRAO – typically happens when plaque that has built up in a carotid artery, the main arteries on each side of the neck that send blood to the brain and eyes, breaks loose and travels to the retina. That same plaque also could...