Learning the signs of stroke will help you know when to get emergency help. It is critical to get that help quickly as the window of opportunity to treat a stroke is about 3 hours. Medical advances to treat stroke have advanced significantly over the last 10 years. These treatments differ depending on the type of stroke an individual has. 85% of all strokes are ischemic in nature, meaning a blocked blood vessel or rupture in the brain. These can be treated by medication adminstered via IV called tPA. Another treatment may be actual removal of the blood clot by a trained physician in an endovascular procedure. These treatments can minimize the long term effects of stroke and may even prevent death. Therefore, getting to know the signs of stroke is very important, unfortuntely many people do not not recognize the symptoms and many delay seeking medical attention. An easy way to remember the signs of stroke and call 911 right away is F.A.S.T
F: face drooping, does one side of the face droop or feel numb. Is the person’s smile uneven? Sudden numbness or weakness of the face.
A: arm weakness, is one arm weak or numb? Does one arm drift down? Is the person having trouble walking, loss of balance or loss of coordination?.
S: speech difficulty, is speech slurred? Are the words jumbled? Does the person have trouble understanding words? Is the person having sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes? Sudden confusion, sudden excruciating headache or difficulty swallowing.
T: Time to call 911. Even if the symtpoms go away, go to the hospital immediately. Check the time so you will know when the symptoms have occurred.
Are you at risk?
High blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes, poor diet, physical inactivity or obesity, high blood cholesterol and atrial fibrillation are all risk factors that can be treated changed or controlled. Talk to your doctors about your stroke risk and becoming aware of your risks and being aware of stroke symptoms is an important part of protecting yourself.
Stroke can happen to anyone.
May is American Stroke Month and Better Speech and Hearing Month
Check out more information about stroke at:
www.strokeassociation.org
www.stroke.org
www.asha.org
Leslie Stein MS CCC/SLP