A glaring error in describing "early symptoms" includes "horrendous headaches for two consecutive weeks." Now, if someone is really having a stroke (likely the kind in which the brain is bleeding, not the kind with the blood clot), then waiting for two weeks is tantamount to suicide.
No, "early symptoms" might include the sudden onset of a horrendous headache. More like two minutes, not two weeks.
Plus - and you might have read this here before - often, stroke victims do not even have a headache. The National Stroke Association offers these easy-to-remember signs, called F.A.S.T. :
FACE: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
ARMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
TIME: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.
1 comment:
Good post. We really need to get the word out about these quick tests and maybe save someones life.
People who have had a stroke are at increased risk of having a second stroke. I keep thinking it would be harder to judge the signs a second time around --- I still smile crooked and can't keep my arm up without drift.
Linda
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