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Medical Video: One Month Before Stroke, Your Body Will Send You These Warning Signs, Don’t Ignore Them!
Stroke, also called a brain attack, occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to a part of the brain (ischemic stroke), or when a blood vessel in the brain breaks and blood cannot flow to certain parts of the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). If oxygen-rich blood does not reach the brain, brain cells will start to die and permanent brain damage can occur. The majority of stroke victims survive and carry out rehabilitation as a recovery process, such as speech and physical therapy. However, complications of stroke are common. Including:
- Limp muscles or paralysis on one side of the body
- Difficulty swallowing and talking
- Memory loss or difficulty thinking and understanding language
- Pain, numbness or tingling in the affected parts of the body
- Changes in attitude and mood
Stroke can cause temporary or permanent disability, depending on the severity of the stroke and how much blood flow is disrupted to the brain. When discussing stroke, the key is to minimize brain damage. The sooner you become aware of a stroke and ask for medical help, the better the chances of recovery and avoiding serious brain damage or disability.
What are the symptoms of a stroke?
- Limp suddenly
Suddenly feeling weak or numb on the arm, or face is a common sign of stroke, especially if it only occurs on one side of the body. When you smile and look in the mirror, you may notice that one side of your face looks down. If you try to lift both hands, you will have difficulty lifting one of your hands. Depending on the severity of the stroke, you may also experience paralysis on one side of your body.
- Suddenly feeling confused
Stroke can cause sudden confusion. For example, if you are typing on a computer or conversing, you may suddenly have difficulty speaking, thinking, or understanding speech.
- Suddenly experiencing vision problems
Because of the weakness of one side of your body, you may experience difficulty while walking, losing balance, or feeling dizzy.
- Sudden headache
If you suddenly experience severe headaches without obvious causes, you may experience a stroke. This headache can be accompanied by dizziness or vomiting.
What should I do?
If you have a stroke, you may experience one or more symptoms. It doesn't occur to you to contact a doctor. Even though you tend to be aware of different symptoms or feel something is not good in you, you may not realize that this is a serious problem when it's too late.
Symptoms of stroke can develop slowly in a matter of hours or days. When you experience a mild stroke, also known as transient ischemic attack (TIA), symptoms are usually transient and increase within one to two hours. In this case, you might consider symptoms that occur as stress, migraines, or nerve problems.
However, signs or symptoms of stroke require further investigation from a doctor. If you go to the hospital within three hours of the first symptom of an ischemic stroke, your doctor can give you medicine to decipher blood clots and restore flow to the brain. Quick action increases your chances of actually recovering after a stroke. This also reduces severe disability. A simple FAST test can help you identify a stroke in yourself and others:
- F (face): smile. See if there is a drop sign on one side.
- A (arms): raise your hand. See if there are difficulties raising your hand.
- S (speech): try saying a simple sentence or read one sentence aloud.
- T (time): immediately call 112 if you or someone you know has a stroke.
What are some things to remember?
There are other conditions that can resemble symptoms of a stroke, such as seizures and migraines. However, it is important that you do not diagnose yourself. Even if you have TIA and the symptoms disappear, do not ignore these signs. TIA increases the risk of stroke, so you need an examination to determine the cause of this stroke, and you need to start treatment to reduce your risk. In fact, "more than a third of people who have TIA end up having a severe stroke in one year if they don't receive treatment," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
