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Recognizing The Symptoms of A Stroke

What is stroke? Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die.

When part of the brain dies from lack of blood flow, the part of the body it controls is affected. Strokes can cause paralysis, affect language and vision, and cause other problems. Treatments are available to minimize the potentially devastating effects of stroke, but to receive them, one must recognize the warning signs and act quickly:

• 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
   

• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Sometimes these symptoms are difficult to recognize. Unfortunately, this may result in brain damage to the victim if care is not administered in a timely fashion. Doctors at a recent American Stroke Association annual conference have declared a simple series of questions to ask of the victim designed to assist the bystander in diagnosis of the problem:

• Ask the individual to smile
   

• Ask the individual to raise both arms
   

• Ask the individual to speak a simple sentence

If the individual has trouble with any of the questions, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the reactions and symptoms to the dispatcher. Use of this simple test will help non-medical persons to identify stroke related symptoms, more accurately diagnose occurrence of stroke and ultimately prevent brain damage and other stroke related effects.