A stoke is a cerebrovascular incident similar to a heart attack in the brain, caused by a disruption of blood flow to the brain. These episodes can occur to anyone at any time, regardless of age or health, which makes knowing the early warning signs even more important.
While not necessarily fatal, strokes are the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. The National Stroke Association estimates that, on average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds. However, in most cases, strokes are preventable. Therefore, it’s important to know the warning signs of strokes before it’s too late for you or your loved ones.
Transient Ischemic Attacks
A 2005 study published by the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology discovered that people about to suffer from a stroke may get their first sign far sooner than one would think.
Specifically, researchers discovered that nearly one in three of all ischemic stroke survivors had suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA), or a “mini-stroke,” within a week prior to their incident. Ischemic strokes are the most common type of stroke and are caused by narrowing of the large or small arteries of the brain—or by clots that block blood flow to the brain.
A TIA has similar symptoms to those of a stroke, including sudden numbness or weakness of the limbs or face (especially on one side of the body), confusion, difficulty speaking, and the onset of a severe headache. However, these incidents typically last less than five minutes and do no permanent damage to the brain.
The occurrence of a TIA is the most prominent warning sign experienced by a soon-to-be stroke victim, but the TIA can also lead to prevention of a full stroke later on if medical treatment is gained in time. Author of the study Dr. Peter Rothwell of the Department of Clinical Neurology at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, England, said because the window of time between a TIA and a full-on stroke is so unpredictable, patients should seek medical treatment within hours of experiencing a TIA.
F.A.S.T.
This commonly used acronym is one to keep in your back pocket and can be used to instantly recognize the signs of a stroke.
Face drooping: Ask the person in question to smile—or if you feel like you’re suffering from a possible stroke, try looking into a mirror. If a patient’s face appears lopsided and feels numb, note this and move on to the next step.
Arm weakness: If a patient cannot lift both of their arms, or if one seems to drift downward, this is another sure sign of a stroke.
Speech Difficulty: Ask a patient to repeat a simple sentence, such as “The sky is clear.” If a patient has difficulty understanding the request or has trouble repeating the words, move to the final step immediately.
Time to Call 9-1-1: If any of the above three symptoms develop, call 9-1-1. Even if these symptoms subside in time, their onset could be the sign of a TIA, which can occur within hours or days of a full-on stroke. Time is important in these cases, so be sure to note the time of initial onset, and seek medical services as soon as you can.
Other symptoms to look for include difficulty seeing in one or both eyes, sudden dizziness or loss of coordination, and a sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
Signs Specific to Women
Unique symptoms may also occur in women and can often be overlooked. A 2015 survey conducted by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center showed that only 10 percent of women knew that hiccups along with slight chest pain could be an early warning sign of stroke in women.
Women are also more likely than men to experience numbness over their entire body prior to a stroke, and they are more likely to suffer from headaches as an early warning sign.
Prevention
While these signs may help you recognize a stroke during or close to its onset, understanding possible risk factors of strokes is also an important way to avoid suffering from this kind of attack. The American Stroke Association advises individuals to limit sodium intake to 1500 mg a day, avoid smoking, get regular checkups, and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day to decrease your chances of suffering a stroke.
Women also have a unique set of risk factors to be aware of, including pregnancy, migraine headaches, the use of birth control and hormone replacement therapy, and certain autoimmune diseases, such as lupus.
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