Just because you're young ...

Recent Reuters article shows that even health professionals can misdiagnose a stroke - for those who don't fit the mold.

Because the typical stroke victim is age 55 or older, an emergency room's staff may not suspect a stroke when a patient under 45 arrives with telltale symptoms, the researchers said.

They urged doctors to be vigilant for signs of a stroke even if the patient is young, noting the importance of quick treatment to prevent lasting damage.

"Accurate diagnosis of stroke on initial presentation in young adults can reduce the number of patients who have continued paralysis and continued speech problems," Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi of Wayne State University in Detroit, one of the researchers, said in a statement.

As other blog entries have noted, the move to get stroke patients to the right location for proper treatment is a great step forward. Another important move is to make sure the people who deal with emergencies - those who answer 911 calls, those who respond to those calls, ER staff, etc. - are aware of the signs and can help make life-saving decisions.

That includes you - even if you're under 40, it can still happen to you. Believe me, I know.

'God will be with you'

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

-Joshua 1:9

Strong words for the right time. Joshua had just taken charge after the death of Moses.

These words had to be reassuring for someone in a new position in life. Did a stroke leave you or a loved one in a new position in life? To this day, I stumble through words, especially in times of stress or fatigue.

But the words calm and re-energize: "... God will be with you where you go." Good words to consider and remember.

Another blog telling a stroke survivor story

One of my Google alerts pointed me to the story of another stroke survivor and, most importantly, a fellow Christian.

To quote:

I know the One Who is the Great Physician. I don't know a doctor, but I know The Doctor.

'You have been healed'

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

-1 Peter 2:24

Anyone perfect out there? With no defect, never ill, always right?

Follow him, and all your wounds, all your infirmities, will fall away. Follow him, and you will see.

A hole in an Osmond heart

Another story of a young - relatively - stroke survivor with a hole in the heart.

Entertainer Jimmy Osmond had a hole in the heart for 40 years before he found it the hard way:

Jimmy was given a bubble echocardiogram - a procedure in which an ultrasound scan of the heart is followed by an injection of a bubble of saline (purified water) into the arm to make the heart functions more visible.

It revealed a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) - a hole the size of a pound coin in the septal wall that separates the right and upper left chambers of the heart. It was a birth defect that had gone undetected.

Jimmy had been through many insurance medicals but had never been given an echocardiogram as there had not appeared to be any need for one. No abnormal heart sounds had been detected, and his blood pressure and cholesterol were normal.

"My doctor explained that over time, tiny blood clots that he described as 'particles' had travelled from my heart to my brain, forming a large clot. and this is what had caused the stroke," says Jimmy.

The Daily Mail article included the great graphic (above) that explains the procedure quite well.

This world can be tough - but not tough enough

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 8:38-39

No separation. Nothing "in all creation" can separate us from the love of God.

Consider illness. Consider suffering. Consider post-stroke trials and tribulations, for the survivors, for the caregivers, for the loved ones. This is not to make light of those conditions - instead, it is a message for the ultimate hope for those suffering.

None of these conditions, as Paul reminds us, "will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Comforting love. Unconditional love. All-encompassing love.

Amen to that, and thank God.

Through telemedicine, we have a survivor

As this example from a USA Today article, the right technology used in the right way can help save a life.

It started with classic symptoms - a women with slurred speech and sagging face - on Thanksgiving Day. Problem: She was 200 miles away from a neurologist. Through telemedicine, the doctor looked at the patient, spoke to the patient, went over a brain scan and diagnosed the stroke.

Experiences such as those are why the Mayo Clinic physician and others see telemedicine as one solution to a vexing problem: Few stroke patients are getting emergency treatments that sometimes prevent the most devastating effects of strokes.

One big reason is that far too few do what that Arizona woman did: Get to a hospital immediately. The most widely used treatment is a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and, under current guidelines, it must be given within three hours of the first symptoms.

And with technology in the right hands, treatment is happening more often in some remote areas. It needs to get into more of those right hands.

Women often unaware of stroke risk

You know the stroke stereotype: They all happen to elderly men.

Wrong, wrong wrong.

For evidence that we need more stroke awareness efforts, an excerpt from an article about how women are often unaware of stroke risk:

The survey shows that:

* Only seven of 37 women (19%) with irregular heart rhythm and 11 of 71 (15%) with known heart disease identified these conditions as risk factors for stroke.

* Just 3% of the women surveyed correctly identified irregular heart rhythm as a stroke risk factor; 16% identified heart disease and 36% identified diabetes as risk factors.

* Two-thirds of the women considered their health to be good or excellent; about 70% said they rarely or never worried about stroke.

'The earth is full of his unfailing love'

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

-Psalm 33:4-5

"The earth is full of his unfailing love."

Consider those words. The world is full of money - and people try to grab all they can. The world is full of power - and we often see the consequences of a grab of power. The world is full of temporary treasures, objects people seek, pleasures people idolize.

All are fleeting. All will fail and fall away.

So what remains? His unfailing love. Take refuge in his eternal love.

Make sure you know the signs: Lives can be saved

The British National Health Service in has a lofty goal: reducing the number of stroke deaths in half.

From a Reuters story about this new stroke awareness campaign:

Deaths from strokes can be halved if people recognise the signs of an attack and call an ambulance immediately, the National Health Service said on Monday.

New clot-busting treatments can produce "Lazarus-like" effects and have patients up and about within a day if administered within three hours of a stroke, said Roger Boyle, the National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke.

The National Health Service posts great information, including specifics about the signs of a stroke. The agency uses the F.A.S.T. acronym:

• Face: Has their face drooped or look fallen on one side? Can they smile?
• Arms: Can the person raise both arms?
• Speech: Can the person speak clearly and understand what other people are saying?
• Time: Time to call 999 (blogger's note: in the U.S., of course, that would be 911) if you see one or more of these signs.

And that's the bottom line. Even if you're uncertain, call for help. Life is in the balance.