National Stroke Awareness Month

Top Los Angeles Nursing School

May is not only Hepatitis Awareness Month, it's also National Stroke Awareness Month!

Do you know the signs of a stroke? Can you remember F.A.S.T.?
Read on and learn more about the fifth leading cause of death in the US...

1. Fast Facts

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the US.
Stroke is also the leading cause of disability in the US.
There are two forms of stroke: ischemic - blockage of a blood vessel supplying the brain, and hemorrhagic - bleeding into or around the brain.
About 25 percent of people who recover from their first stroke will have another stroke within 5 years.

2. F.A.S.T.

Do you know the four signs of a stroke? Start memorizing these, and you might save a life one day!

F: Face drooping
- Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person's smile uneven?
A: Arm weakness
- Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S: Speech difficulty
- Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like "The sky is blue." Is the sentence repeated correctly?
T: Time to call 9-1-1
- If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the hospital immediately. Check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared.

3. Prevention & Treatment

There are essentially 3 treatment stages for stroke: prevention, therapy after the stroke, and post-stroke rehabilitation.

Therapies to avoid a first or recurrent stroke rely on treating a person's underlying risk factors for stroke, including hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes.
Acute stroke therapies attempt to stop a stroke while it happens by quickly dissolving the blood clot causing an ischemic stroke, or by stopping the bleeding of a hemorrhagic stroke.
Post-stroke rehabilitation helps individuals overcome disabilities tied to stroke damage.

4. Life After A Stroke

While stroke is a disease of the brain, its effects can be felt throughout the body. A common disability stemming from stroke is complete paralysis on one side of the body, called hemiplegia. A related disability that is not as debilitating as paralysis is one-sided weakness or hemiparesis.

Stroke survivors often display the following symptoms:

Problems understanding or forming speech
Difficulty controlling their emotions or may express inappropriate emotions
Depression and/or other emotional problems
Numbness or strange sensations
Pain is often worse in the hands and feet, made worse by movement and temperature changes, especially cold temperatures