Stroke is a race against time – every minute determines the patient’s ability to recover. Early recognition of stroke signs is a golden opportunity to save lives and limit serious consequences later. Don’t ignore the seemingly simple but serious consequences below.
Signs of stroke – the “FAST” rule
There is an extremely effective method to recognize the signs of stroke today that cannot be ignored without the "FAST" rule, these are the letters abbreviated in English including:
• F (Face – Face): This is a fairly common method to identify whether a person has had a stroke or not. To apply this method, you need to ask the patient to smile or raise their eyebrows to see if one side of the face droops. If one side of the face cannot move normally, this could be a sign of a stroke.
• A (Arms – Hands): The method of checking the arms is also very simple by asking the patient to raise both arms. If any arm is weak and cannot be raised, this is a warning sign of stroke risk.
• S (Speech – Speech): Speaking is also a way to check and identify signs of illness. If the ability to speak is poor, there are many difficulties, stuttering or lisping, etc. All of these signs indicate a high possibility of stroke that the patient needs to pay attention to.
• T (Time – Time): Time is of the essence when it comes to stroke recovery, so if you experience any of the above three symptoms, call 911 immediately.
Signs of stroke from 5 common symptoms
In addition to checking for signs using the FAST rule, patients can also rely on the following symptoms to detect the disease as early as possible:
Sudden severe headache
A sudden severe headache accompanied by nausea and dizziness can be a sign of a hemorrhagic stroke, especially in people who have never had a history of headaches.
Loss of vision
When vision is suddenly impaired in one or both eyes, causing the patient to see everything blurry or dark, making it difficult to see surrounding objects clearly, this is also one of the signs of a stroke that we need to know.
Loss of balance and coordination
In walking, the patient suddenly loses balance and has difficulty. Or sometimes, it causes dizziness, making the patient disoriented. All of these signs are present in stroke.
Numbness or weakness on one side of the body
This is one of the most common symptoms of a stroke that usually occurs on one side of the face, arm or leg. Accordingly, numbness and weakness on one side of the body often occurs suddenly, causing difficulty in moving and controlling muscles.
Difficulty speaking and understanding speech
Stroke can cause the patient to have unclear pronunciation, stuttering, or difficulty finding words to express themselves. Because the disease affects the language center in the brain. Therefore, it causes the patient to have difficulty speaking or understanding what others say.
Difficulty swallowing while eating
Normal food is delicious, but when you have a stroke, chewing and swallowing becomes extremely difficult. Many people have had a stroke because of this difficulty in swallowing, leading to choking, causing a great risk of pneumonia.
How to handle when encountering someone showing signs of stroke
• Call emergency immediately: Inform the patient of the condition by calling the emergency number immediately. This is an urgent matter that needs to be handled as quickly as possible to avoid causing brain damage that is difficult to recover from.
• Place the patient on his side: To avoid the risk of choking and maintain breathing, place the patient in a lying position with the head slightly lowered while waiting for emergency help.
• Do not give the patient any drinks or medications: This can be dangerous, especially for people who have difficulty swallowing.
• Remember the time of symptom detection: This will help the doctor evaluate and determine the appropriate treatment method, so it is extremely important. It is best to note the time immediately when detecting symptoms to avoid confusion and errors.
How to prevent stroke effectively
Don't wait until you get sick to prevent it, it's no longer meaningful, especially when the disease becomes severe. Therefore, whether there are signs or not, prevention is never too much. Especially for the elderly, the case of stroke is most likely to occur.
To prevent stroke, we first need to understand some of the causes of the disease, based on which we will have the basis for the most effective prevention. Some of the main causes and risk factors of stroke include:
• High blood pressure:
This disease will put pressure on the blood vessel walls, increasing the risk of blood vessel rupture, even forming blood clots, causing a high risk of stroke.
Prevention by controlling blood pressure and blood sugar will help reduce the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, two leading causes of stroke.
• Cardiovascular disease:
The causes of increased risk of blood clots are: Myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation and other cardiovascular diseases, which have a high risk of stroke.
Prevention: Exercise regularly to maintain weight, reduce the risk of obesity, and effectively protect cardiovascular health.
• Diabetes
High blood sugar damages blood vessels and is also a major cause of stroke.
Prevention: Eat healthy by reducing salt, sugar and saturated fat intake and include green vegetables, fruits, fish and nuts in your daily diet.
• Smoking:
Elderly people are at increased risk of stroke due to smoking and drinking too much alcohol. This invisible enemy will damage blood vessels, thereby increasing the risk of stroke.
Prevention: Quit smoking and drink alcohol in moderation to protect blood vessels and prevent the risk of stroke.
In addition to relying on the above causes to be more closely involved in the disease prevention journey, the elderly should also have regular health check-ups. This will help detect early potential risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.
In short, stroke is a dangerous condition, but it is completely preventable through a healthy lifestyle and regular health check-ups. If you are having difficulty and do not have time to prevent it and are confused about how to recognize the signs.
Come to Hiocare care and nursing service, with a professional and dedicated working style, ensuring to apply effective care and prevention methods, as well as quickly detect and handle when the patient shows signs of stroke. Therefore, do not let precious moments pass by - understand the warning signs of stroke and have care and handling methods right now to be ready to "respond" in any situation.
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