Education
World Stroke Day: More Education Needed on Stroke Symptoms, Risk Factors and Prevention
5 min. read
The data on stroke – which occurs when a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed or ruptures -- remains striking: Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke, states the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And every 3 minutes and 11 seconds, someone dies of stroke, the CDC adds.
World Stroke Day, recognized every year on Oct. 29th, is designed to educate everyone about symptoms, risk factors and the immediate, life-saving actions needed for those experiencing a stroke.
There have been significant advances in treating all strokes quickly and efficiently if someone gets emergency medical care as soon as symptoms begin. But despite ongoing, year-round campaigns to educate the public about symptoms and risk factors, much of the public are not aware of the vital differences between heart attack symptoms and those of a stroke, explains Felipe De Los Rios La Rosa, M.D., stroke program director at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute.
Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care brings together two institutes — Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute and Marcus Neuroscience Institute — each with dedicated stroke teams.
10th Year as Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center
Ten years ago, Baptist Health Baptist Hospital, in partnership with Miami Neuroscience Institute, was the first hospital in South Florida certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission. This is the nation’s highest level of stroke accreditation.
Additionally, Baptist Health recently announced that seven of its hospitals have earned the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines achievement award for demonstrating a commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of stroke.
Dr. De Los Rios emphasizes that it is vitally important to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke -- and understanding the acronym F.A.S.T. (see below for more details) is just as relevant as ever.
“You’d expect that more people would know about stroke -- but not really,” said Dr. De Los Rios. “Even with F.A.S.T., the level of community knowledge on stroke signs and symptoms has not changed much over the last decade or so. People are much more in tune to heart attacks, which you see dramatized more often on television or in the movies. So, it continues to be vital to keep educating the public about stroke.”
Stroke is the No. 5 leading cause of death in the U.S. And a stroke can happen to anyone, at any age. In fact, globally about one in four adults over the age of 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime. While recent trends have pointed to a troubling increase of strokes among young adults, the majority of people carry an increasing risk as they age. Nonetheless, anyone can have a stroke at any age.
The best chance of recovery from a stroke – including prevention of permanent disability – is to be treated as fast as possible -- within 24 hours after the onset of symptoms from an ischemic stroke, the most common.
“Seeking care immediately is of vital importance,” explains Brian Snelling, M.D., stroke program director at Marcus Neuroscience Institute. “If you are having a stroke, or if a friend or a loved one is having a stroke, at our hospital, we are in close communication with our EMS colleagues, and they are often calling us from the field when they identify patients who they think are having a stroke. They can provide us that patient's information and we're able to meet them at the hospital.”
Preventing Strokes by Treating Risk Factors
A majority of strokes can be prevented through education and lifestyle changes, such as being more physically active, managing your weight, healthy eating, managing blood pressure, getting healthy sleep, and quitting smoking and vaping. Talk to your doctor about managing your stroke risk factors to help prevent a stroke.
Many people don’t realize is that risk factors for stroke can be controlled or treated. Those modifiable risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, high cholesterol and smoking.
Another fact that may not be well-known: Strokes are more common in women.
“This is a disease that's associated with aging and we continue to refine the therapies available for acute stroke,” explains Dr. De Los Rios. “There are new therapies even for the deadliest strokes -- hemorrhagic strokes -- this is very encouraging. However, the window of time for treatment from the onset of symptoms is small. It is still very, very important to give treatment early. And that starts with recognizing the signs of strokes.”
When a patient arrives in the ER with stroke symptoms, a team consisting of emergency room physicians, neurologists and neuroradiologists diagnose the condition as quickly as possible and treat it with the most advanced clot-busting medications, such as a tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA. In addition to this treatment, neurologists will work closely with other specialists to use the latest treatment techniques and devices, including endovascular treatment, for removing blood clots or plaque from inside arteries.
Dr. Snelling explains that advances in stroke treatments is including more patients would could benefit from thrombolytic therapy, or the use of medications to destroy blood clots or prevent new blood clots from forming.
“The future of stroke care is changing in a few ways,” said Dr. Snelling. “One is further identifying patients who we think would benefit from stroke acute treatment, meaning patients who would further benefit from having a clot retrieval procedure or would benefit from having some thrombolytic therapy. A lot of that is driven by artificial intelligence. It seems like every year there are new trials that are completed that show there's more and more groups of patients who are previously excluded from these treatments who we know would find benefit.”
F.A.S.T. Signs of a Stroke
Ischemic strokes occur when a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed. It accounts for nearly 90 of all strokes. At least 10 percent of strokes are much deadlier -- hemorrhagic strokes. They occur when a weakened blood vessel ruptures.
Researchers have developed a new Spanish acronym aimed to raise awareness of stroke symptoms in the Hispanic community. Known as RÁPIDO, it aims to replicate the popular F.A.S.T. mnemonic that exists in English.
Here are the top signs of a stroke, according to the American Stroke Association:
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.
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