Stroke Awareness

Air Date: 5/31/2004

Reduce the Risk of Stroke

It is never too late or too early to adopt a healthy lifestyle. You can reduce stroke risk factors by not smoking, staying physically active and drinking alcohol only in moderation. Additionally, medical treatment can change stroke risk factors by controlling high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Washoe Medical Center is currently doing clinical trials with a drug designed to protect the brain from stroke-related damage. The key, as with most stroke education efforts, is early symptom recognition/call 911.

Recognize the Early Warning Signs and Symptoms That Are Very Common with a Stroke

• Sudden blurred or decreased vision in one or both eyes
• Numbness, weakness or paralysis of the face or in an upper or lower limb, occurring on one or both sides of the body
• Difficulty speaking or understanding
• Dizziness loss of balance, or an unexplained fall
• Headache (usually severe and abrupt onset) or unexplained change in the pattern of headaches

3-Step Stroke Test

Got a Minute? Three Easy Steps to Diagnose Strokes

By familiarizing yourself with this one-minute, three-step test, you can recognize the early warning signs and symptoms that are common with a stroke. Then, taking action fast can help improve the treatment and the outcome for stroke victims. This test is so simple that even a child can use it. Teach it to your child--many children do save others by learning life-saving techniques such as CPR. If you do believe someone is exhibiting the symptoms of a stroke, act fast, dial 911.

Step 1: Ask person to "smile broadly, showing your teeth." (This "smile test" is checking for one-sided facial weakness or paralysis.)

Step 2: Ask person to close their eyes, raise their arms in front of them and hold them out for a count of ten. (Checking for limb weakness or paralysis, dizziness, loss of balance.)

Step 3: Ask person to repeat a simple phrase, such as "Don't cry over spilled milk." (Checking for difficulty speaking or understanding.)

The test was developed by a team of stroke researchers from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine and presented during a conference of the American Stroke Association. Accuracy of the test was determined by first teaching it to 100 healthy bystanders, who then performed the test on stroke survivors. There was 97 percent accuracy in detecting arm weakness and 96 percent accuracy in detecting speech deficits. There was accuracy 74 percent of the time when it came to detecting facial weakness, probably because it is hard to assess a stranger's smile.

Respond to the Signs of a Stroke, Dial 911

Rapid diagnosis, rapid response, and rapid treatment of strokes is especially important because the clot-busting drugs that can reverse or limit brain damage can be used only in the first three hours after strokes occur.

Recover from the Effects of Stroke

Strokes are caused by the sudden loss of blood flow to the brain (ischemic stroke) or bleeding inside the head (hemorrhagic stroke). When this blood flow stops, brain cells stop functioning or die. As a result, the activities of the body controlled by dying brain cells can lose their ability to function. A clot-busting drug called t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) can stop the spread of brain cell death from an ischemic stroke. It can help patients recover with little disability if patients receive it within three hours of the first onset of symptoms. Treatment for hemorrhagic strokes is aimed at getting the blood pressure under control and correcting the cause while protecting the brain from further damage.

When stroke occurs, the potential for brain damage increases with the amount of time that passes. The course of care for a stroke patient typically begins in the emergency room, where Dr. Katz’s 24-hour, rapid-response stroke team ensures access to medical expertise and the latest in treatment and technology.

This team provides a new brand of care and peace of mind for our community because remarkable new options are available right here at home. The Washoe Institute for Neurosciences Comprehensive Stroke Center provides the technology and expert care that makes innovative health care a hometown reality.

450 Edison Way Reno, Nevada 89502 (775)858-5700 Fax (775)858-5720