Warning signs of a ‘sudden’ stroke, everyone should know!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), someone in the US has a stroke every 40 seconds, so it’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms.

“A heart attack is a heart attack, and a brain attack is a stroke,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of clinical cardiology and preventive cardiology at National Jewish Health.

It is “usually a sudden decrease in blood flow to the brain”.

According to experts, here are 5 sure signs of a stroke.

1. Typical signs of a stroke

Suddenly severe headache Unknown cause is one of the typical causes of stroke Shutterstock

Here are the typical signs of a stroke that are normal for both men and women, according to the US CDC:

• Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, difficulty speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
• Sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or lack of coordination.
• Suddenly severe headache undefined reason.

2. Who is most at risk of having a stroke?

The arteries tend to narrow and stiffen as people age, increasing the risk of stroke.

There are also lifestyle factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise… that increase the risk of stroke, and some ethnic groups are also at higher risk.

“Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the most important risk factor for stroke,” says the Cleveland Clinic.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a blood pressure of 140/90 or higher in adults is considered high. The usual goal for treating blood pressure in adults is to keep blood pressure at 120/80 or lower.

3. Stroke also happens to young people

10-15% of strokes occur in people under the age of 50 – so it’s never too early to be proactive.

“You don’t think about illness when you’re young,” says Dr. Vladimir Hachinski, a stroke and neurological specialist.

“If you’re going to college or leaving the house, your habits will change now. You start eating on your own. This is a good time to think about how to prevent illness,” Dr. Hachinski said. mean, follow Eat This, Not That!

4. Transient ischemic attack (or “warning stroke”)

Doctor consulting patient shutterstock

Studies show that signs of an ischemic stroke (the most common type of stroke) can appear up to a week before the actual stroke.

These strokes – called strokes Ischemic A transient (TIA) stroke is called a “warning stroke” and has symptoms similar to a true stroke, but lasts less than 5 minutes and does not lead to brain damage.

“We’ve known for a long time that a TIA is often a precursor to a major stroke,” says Peter M. Rothwell, PhD, a physician in the Department of Clinical Neurology at Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford (UK).

“What we have not been able to determine is how urgently a patient must be evaluated after a TIA to receive the most effective prophylactic treatment.

This study shows that the timing of the TIA is critical and that the most effective treatments should be started within a few hours of the TIA to prevent a major attack,” noted Dr. Eat This, Not That!

5. Covid-19 and stroke

Stroke expert Shazam Hussain said: “While researchers are still working on the exact Covid-19 affects the brain, the evidence suggests it may increase the risk of stroke.”

“But these clot-caused strokes seem to be affecting young people. This is not a classic stroke scenario.

We actually see young people who don’t have traditional risk factors for stroke like high blood pressure or other problems.

These are young, healthy people, coming in with big brushstrokes. Regardless of your age or whether you have Covid-19 or not, you should never ignore stroke symptoms.

That’s because while there are very effective stroke therapies available, they are time-limited.” Eat This, Not That!