A stroke is defined as a brain attack which happens when a blood vessel does not carry blood to the brain and the brain gets damaged or destroyed. In the e world a stroke happens in every 40 seconds and each year there is a record of 795,000 Americans having a stroke. It is necessary that every individual needs to understand the symptoms of stroke and act fast. Person having strokes can be treated as it is a medical emergency and responding immediately and providing medical treatment to the person can significantly save the person and recovery can be fast.
There are many signs and symptoms of stroke:-
- Trouble in speaking/understanding the language, signs or having sudden confusion
- Dizziness can include loss of or balance
- Severe Headache for no reason
- Weakness or sudden numbness on face, legs or arm
- Trouble in vision with one or both eyes
- Problem in co-ordination
- Memory loss
Stroke can be sudden, so the symptoms are also seen very fast and you can identify them quickly as the patient goes pale and sick. The patient may feel of sudden headache and numbness on the face can be seen as you face the person having symptoms of stroke. They may fumble when they tell you what is happening to them and the speech may be unclear. Their vision may get blurred and may have problems in walking and co-ordination, and in some rare cases loss of consciousness is observed.
The organs may lose control depending on the damaged part of the brain and the common ones seen are:-
- Speech
- Unclear vision
- One side of the body not functioning properly
- Memory and balance
- Perception
Strokes can be short or temporary. These strokes can be temporary and the clot in the brain is for a shorter time and the brain gets the blood supply after some interval. The symptoms of these mini strokes can be same or can differ. These symptoms can stay for a short or a longer time and can depend on what part of the brain the stroke is affected. Some risk factors that can cause a stroke are age and stress. Out of men and women, men are more likely to have a stroke and people who have diabetes. Further, people who have a history to have a stroke earlier are more likely to have a stroke. It is believed that people have only three strokes, but there are still some other habits that add to the damage like cigarette smoking, drinking habits, no physical activity or exercise, obesity and high cholesterol in the body. Other many coronary artery diseases are the risk factors for the stroke as stroke is a vascular disease.
Watch for the above signs and symptoms and call the emergency helpline for immediate help because fast diagnosis and medications may save one’s life.
