Knowing the warning signs of a stroke is important, because survival and recovery depend on how quickly you get treatment. The earlier you recognize them, the better your odds.
Strokes are the third-leading cause of death in the United States and can cause long-term disability. While stroke risk increases as you get older, stroke can affect people at any age.
If you are curious about your risk of experiencing a stroke, make an appointment with your primary care provider.
What is a stroke?
A stroke happens when there’s not enough blood getting to your brain. Without blood, brain cells die.
The supply of blood going to your brain might get blocked in the large blood vessels that lead to your brain. Or, blood vessels around your brain tissue could burst. Sometimes, a stroke is a massive brain attack. Other times, it could last a short time – 30 minutes or less. This is called a mini-stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA).
Regardless of the type, a stroke needs immediate treatment and care. Here’s how to recognize the warning signs so you can get care fast.
Warning signs and symptoms of a stroke
A stroke can come on very quickly and suddenly. Warning signs of a stroke depend on what type of stroke is happening. They also vary based on the part of the brain where the stroke occurs.
These warning signs can include:
- Abrupt difficulty speaking
- General overall confusion
- A sudden and severe headache
- Trouble understanding someone else speaking
- Trouble walking, dizziness and loss of balance
- Numbness or tingling of an arm or leg on one side of the body
- Numbness of the face, which could result in drooling and difficulty swallowing or breathing
If you see any of these symptoms, immediately call 911. Seek medical emergency help for yourself or another. Don’t waste time diagnosing the problem. Don’t wait to see if the symptoms go away on their own. Even if these symptoms seem to subside, they’re still an indication of a medical emergency.
BE FAST to spot a stroke
To make it easier to assess the warning signs of a stroke, learn the BE FAST test.
- B stands for balance loss: Is there a sudden loss of balance?
- E stands for eye changes: Has vision been lost in one or both eyes?
- F stands for face drooping: Is one side of the face drooping?
- A stands for arm weakness: Raise both arms. Does one arm suddenly drop down?
- S stands for speech difficulty: Say something. Is the speech slurred or strange?
- T stands for time to call 911: If you’ve answered yes to any of the above questions, call 911 right away.
Are warning signs of a stroke different for women?
Men and women typically experience similar symptoms of a stroke. But women’s experiences may differ in a few ways.
Women may experience
- More subtle stroke symptoms
- General weakness, not just arm weakness
- Disorientation and memory problems, not just loss of balance
- Fatigue, nausea or vomiting
Don’t brush off the warning signs of a stroke just because they are more subtle. Every moment counts.
What’s a silent stroke?
Some people can have a stroke and not know they had one. It’s called a silent stroke. Silent strokes affect 1 in 4 people by the time they are over age 80.
As with regular strokes, blockages and bleeding cause silent strokes. But they happen in a part of the brain that affects subtle functioning, like memory or reasoning skills. A silent stroke doesn’t have any of the dramatic warning signs that a regular stroke presents. Instead, the damaging results of a silent stroke show up on a brain scan.
The long-term effects of a silent stroke include:
- Depression
- Changes in walking
- Reasoning difficulties
- Mild or declining memory loss
If you notice any of these subtle symptoms, don’t brush them off. Make an appointment with your primary care provider right away. They may refer you to a neurologist for additional, more specialized care.
How we can help
When recognizing a stroke, your quick action can save someone’s life. And the faster they get treatment, the more brain cells are saved, which improves their chances of recovery.
Make an appointment with your primary care provider to discuss your risk factors for experiencing a stroke and how you can reduce those chances.
Learn about the stroke care and neurology services we offer at Bon Secours.
