Stroke Warning: Signs and Symptoms

A stroke is a very serious health issue and requires emergency medical assistance. When a person suffers from a stroke, the brain stops receiving blood or receives very little blood. Oxygen or food supply to the brain is cut or drastically reduced resulting in brain damage and sometime even death.

Fortunately, timely diagnosis and treatment can thwart brain damage and save lives. Moreover, this serious medical problem can also be prevented. In order to treat and prevent a stroke, it is important to keep a watch for the signs and symptoms.
Headaches, difficulty in walking, difficulty in speaking, difficulty in understanding, vision problems, numbness or paralysis in the face, numbness or paralysis on one side of the body, difficulty swallowing, loss of balance, falling suddenly, confusion and unconsciousness are all signs that a person may be suffering from a stroke.

Severe headaches, especially a sharp pain in the head like a shooting pain which is accompanied by dizziness, nausea and vomiting are often the only warning that a person is having a stroke. If the person is unable to walk or is unable to walk straight for no apparent reason, immediate medical aid is necessary. Lack of coordination in body movements, falling all of a sudden and losing balance accompanied by dizziness may be signs of a stroke. Moreover, if the person has difficulty with speech, experiences slurring of words and has aphasia which is problem using the right words to talk, it may be an indication that he is having a stroke. Lack of comprehension, difficulty in understanding what others are saying and getting muddled in the head are other symptoms. Vision getting momentarily impaired, which is, blurring of vision, double vision or lack of vision are still other signs of this condition. Serious stroke symptoms include experiencing paralysis or numbness in the face or arms and legs. In the face, when the person smiles, only a part of the lips appear to smile, the other half of the lips droops. If the limbs are numb and their movements are uncoordinated, then the person may be suffering from a stroke. Strokes can also cause difficulty in breathing and swallowing.

Some signs may manifest themselves from time to time and may frequent occur before the onset of a real stroke. There are also attacks called the Transient Ischaemic Attacks or TIAs which are caused due to a temporary stoppage of blood flow to the brain. These are temporary and do not cause any serious harm to the brain. However, these must not be ignored as they are precursors to a real stroke. People who have suffered from transient ischaemic attacks are more prone to a stroke or heart attack. The symptoms of a TIA are similar to stroke symptoms.

A FAST test is used to determine if one is having a stroke. As the name suggests, the test is a quick one to check if a person may be suffering from a stroke and if indeed the signs of a stroke exist, then action should be equally quick to get it treated. In the word FAST, F stands for facial weakness – Is the person able to smile? Are his eyes droopy? Is his mouth crooked? A stands for Arm weakness – Is the person able to raise both arms; if he raises both arms and one hand drops or if he is unable to raise his arms, these are signs of a stroke. S for speech difficulty – not being able to speak clearly and difficulty understanding and lastly T stands for Timely assistance if the aforementioned signs exist.

Every person suffering from a stroke does not experience the same warning signs and symptoms. These signs may either occur together or alone. Sometimes, only a few symptoms may be present. However, under no circumstances should the person ignore the symptoms or wait till the symptoms subside. As soon as he experiences one or more symptoms he must get medical attention immediately. The severity of the stroke depends on which part of the brain is damaged and for how long was blood supply to this part of the brain cut off. Identifying the symptoms early can go a long way in preventing major damage. This is because the longer these signs remain untreated, the more severe the brain damage. The person along with the stroke sufferer may sometimes have to give mouth to mouth resuscitation to help the patient breathe in case the person has problems in breathing. He may at times have to stop the person from drinking or eating to avoid choking. Similarly, if the patient starts vomiting, he may have to tilt his head to also stop choking.

Within an hour of warning signs and symptoms, the person must get emergency medical help. Timely assistance can help prevent further complications such as paralysis, memory loss, behavioral problems, and speech difficulty.

Chat with a HEART SPECIALIST

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya
(Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees.
The transcript of the chat is given below. Useful for everyone.


Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?

Ans:
1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil.
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime.
3. Quit smoking.
4. Control weight.
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Ans: No

Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person
gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?

Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes

Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?


Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?

Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints

Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?

Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient

Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare

Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age
(I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?

Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ?

Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.

Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad.

Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?

Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.

Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?

Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.

Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, edentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.

Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?

Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child

Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend?

Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?

Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?

Ans : No.

Qn: How would you define junk food?

Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.

Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?

Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?

Ans : No.

Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?

Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.

Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?

Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.

Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?

Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?

Ans: Yes. Strong relationships since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.

Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?

Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?
i
Ans : No.

Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?

Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to
reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?

Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?

Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup s if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) ..