Early Warning Signs of Stroke

Why recognizing the Early Warning Signs of Stroke and warning signs of stroke is important!

Nearly every 40 seconds in American someone has a stroke. Before you finish reading this report, another person will have suffered the early warning signs of stroke. These attacks are often disabling or deadly. Stroke is the leading cause of disability, which results in speech impairment, memory loss, and paralysis. After heart disease and cancer, strokes are the third-leading cause of deaths in the US.

Researchers at Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Centers surveyed over 85,000 adults regarding the warning signs of stroke. In 2009, the following results were recorded at the annual American Stroke Association's International Conference.

Patients at the highest risk for stroke, which are the elderly and previous stroke victims, were the least likely to know the early warning signs of stroke! Less than 40 percent of those surveyed knew all of the early warning signs or to immediately call 911 if a stroke was suspected. All of the following symptoms appear suddenly:

stroke warning signs

* Person feels weakness or numbness or weakness in the leg, face, or arm, most often on only one side of the body

* Suffers a severe headache for no apparent reason

* Problems with vision

* Speech difficulties, disorientation

* Difficulty walking, dizziness, feeling off balance

Treatment for stroke

The longer treatment is delayed, the more irreparable damage occurs. Many victims do not go to the hospital right away because they do not realize they are experiencing a stroke. Early treatment administered using intravenous blood thinners to dissolve the blood clot lessens the risk of permanent disability or death.

Risk factor for stroke

In 2008, researchers at the Mayo Clinic reported that the average emergency room arrival is more than several hours after the onset of early warning signs of stroke. There is only a small window of opportunity open in which blood thinners are considered an effective treatment.

Women are thirty percent likely than men to receive life-saving blood thinners as treatment in the emergency room. Three in five stroke deaths are women. A possible reason is because a woman may not experience the early warning signs of stroke listed above. Females may suffer sudden body pain other than a headache or lose consciousness.

Recovery

Harvard scientists have discovered the following five lifestyle changes can cut the risk for strokes by nearly half!

* Quit Smoking

* Maintain normal weight

* Eat healthy diet

* Exercise regularly

* Moderate use of alcohol

In 2009, a report analyzed the results of using "bad" cholesterol-lowering medications to prevent stroke in over 160,000 patients. For every decrease in bad cholesterol of 39 mg, the risk for stroke was decreased by more than 20 percent.

A medical study showed that people who eat fish high in omega-3 fatty acids such as tuna several times a week or more, lowered their risk of any brain imaging findings of stroke. The participants who ate fish improved their odds by almost 30 percent compared with participants who did not eat fish regularly.

Researchers at UCLA who published their study findings involving nearly 200,000 people found that tea drinkers who drank six cups of tea a day reduced their risk for stroke by 42 percent compared with those in the study who did not drink tea at all.

Common Cause of Stroke

A ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot prevents the normal flow of blood to the brain. This accounts for the vast majority of strokes. Hemorrhagic strokes account for a much smaller percentage and result when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. If you or a loved one show early warning signs of stroke, dial 911 and get to the emergency room as soon as possible!

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