WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT STROKES?

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Added May 23, 2008  Doctors know that a stroke can happen to a person at any age. Even a child can have a stroke. But, let's face it, the vast majority of the 750,000 Americans who suffer a stroke each year are seniors.

Annually, May is National Stroke Awareness Month. This is a time to raise awareness of stroke risk factors, warning signs and prevention measures, especially in the senior population. Stroke prevention is the key element in reducing the number of strokes in this country, and timely stroke care is essential in preventing serious disability.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by a blood clot or a broken blood vessel. Lack of blood and oxygen kills brain cells in the area of the blockage or break, leading to symptoms that may include blindness, loss of speech and paralysis.

In order to minimize the numbers of brain cells killed, it is vital to be aware of stroke symptoms and get treatment immediately. There is treatment, using thrombolytics, or "clot busters," that can improve the outcome of a patient with stroke, but it must be given within three hours of the onset of stroke symptoms.

Stroke is a "brain attack" and "time is brain," so it is important to recognize the symptoms of stroke and call 911 immediately.

Stroke is a medical emergency; know the symptoms:

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg _ especially on one side of the body;

Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding;

Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes;

Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; or

Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

  It has been reported that a neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed an getting to the patient within 3 hours which is tough.

    Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple
questions:

A. *Ask the individual to SMILE.

B. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

C. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks,  call 9-1-1 immediately  and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.