Understanding Signs and Symptoms of Stroke Can Help Get Necessary Care Fast

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and one of the most common causes of disability.

However, the damage can often be minimized if medical care is provided quickly by highly trained clinical staff. To help ensure that patients who suffer from stroke receive the best treatment possible, Martin Memorial is certified as a primary stroke center by the Joint Commission.

Receiving immediate care is critical to limiting the amount of damage the brain suffers following a stroke. That’s why understanding the signs and symptoms of a stroke are so important.

Below are the most common symptoms of stroke. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. If any of these symptoms are present, call 911 right away. Treatment is most effective when started immediately.

Symptoms may be sudden and include:

• Weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Confusion or difficulty speaking or understanding
• Problems with vision, such as dimness or loss of vision in one or both eyes
• Dizziness or problems with balance or coordination
• Problems with movement or walking
• Severe headaches with no other known cause

All of the above warning signs will not necessarily occur with each stroke. Do not ignore any of the warning signs, even if they go away — take action immediately. The symptoms of stroke may resemble other medical conditions or problems. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis.

Other less common symptoms of stroke may include the following:
• Sudden nausea, vomiting or fever not caused by a viral illness
• Brief loss or change of consciousness, such as fainting, confusion, seizures or coma
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA), or mini-stroke, which can cause many of the same symptoms as a stroke. However, TIA symptoms are transient and last for a few minutes or up to 24 hours.

Call for medical help immediately if you suspect a person is having a TIA, as it may be a warning sign that a stroke is about to occur. Not all strokes, however, are preceded by TIAs.

Martin Memorial Again Named a Primary Stroke Center by Joint Commission

Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States and one of the most common causes of disability. However, the damage can often be minimized if medical care is provided quickly by highly trained clinical staff.

To help ensure patients who suffer from stroke receive the best treatment possible, Martin Memorial recently retained certification as a primary stroke center. Martin Memorial was surveyed this fall by The Joint Commission – an organization that evaluates and accredits health care providers – and recently received official notification that it had again achieved certification.

The Joint Commission certifies hospitals that meet national standards and performance measurement expectations. The commission’s certification program was developed along with the American Stroke Association.

Martin Memorial initially received certification in November 2007. To retain certification, hospitals are surveyed on site every two years.

“Stroke patients who are cared for in a primary stroke center have better outcomes with less variation in care, so there are less debilitating after-effects,” said Jason Stabley, DO, medical director of neuroscience services at Martin Memorial. “This program has been a tremendous benefit for the community, providing not only exceptional acute-care treatment, but also valuable information about stroke prevention and the need to seek immediate medical care when a stroke occurs. Those are valuable tools in mitigating the damage of stroke.”

That includes understanding risk factors that can lead to stroke, as well as knowing the signs and symptoms of stroke. While some risk factors – such as age, family history, race, or gender – can’t be controlled, others can. Among those risk factors are high blood pressure or other cardiovascular diseases, cigarette smoking, diabetes, obesity or high cholesterol.

And because there is a limited window of opportunity to provide effective medical treatment, it’s important to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke. The American Stroke Association lists these five signs that someone is having a stroke:

· Sudden numbness or weakness – especially on one side of the body – of the face, arms or legs
· Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
· Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
· Sudden loss of balance, dizziness or trouble walking
· Sudden severe headaches with no known cause or origin

At Risk for a Stroke? Find Out at Screening That Could Provide Life-Saving Info

Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability. But stroke often can be prevented by learning the risk factors, consulting with a physician and making the necessary lifestyle modifications.

To help identify individuals who might be at risk for a stroke, Martin Memorial is holding a screening event that can provide valuable information about their chances of being affected. There will also be information from Martin Memorial’s clinical experts about ways to reduce risks, as well as how to detect the signs and symptoms of stroke. Because having rapid access to treatment is critical to surviving stroke, knowing what to look for when one occurs can help save a life.

The event will take place Saturday, May 30 from 7-11 a.m. at Martin Memorial Medical Center, located at 200 S.E. Hospital Ave. in Stuart.

The screening package is $49 for an individual, $84 for a couple, and will include an EKG, lipid blood test, blood sugar test, body mass index calculation and a blood pressure test. A carotid artery ultrasound may be included with the other tests for $75 for individuals, $127 for couples.

To register for the event, call (866) 361-HOPE (4673). Register by May 26 to guarantee your screening time.

Read All About It: Learn Ways That Men Can Reduce Their Risk of Having a Stroke

Father’s Day is still several weeks away, but last April Martin Memorial partnered with the Palm Beach Post to provide information that can help dads – and all men – lead healthier lifestyles.

Martin Memorial submitted four articles to the Palm Beach Post’s “Ask a Local Doctor” segment on the health page of its Web site. The focus was on men’s health – common illnesses that men face, tips on preventing disease and important screenings for guys of all ages.

Follow this link to read the second article, this one from Jason Stabley, DO, a neurologist with Martin Memorial, who discusses the importance of stroke prevention as well as steps men take take to reduce their risks. Thanks to the Palm Beach Post for working with us on helping provide information that can help men stay healthy.

Rehabilitation Plays Key Role in Getting Stroke Patients Back on Their Feet

It was a typical day for “John” and although he had a light headache, he took an aspirin and went to the gym anyway. As he was walking on the treadmill he felt dizzy, so he stepped off. Suddenly, he passed out.

The paramedics came within minutes and he was rushed to the emergency department. He awoke in the ambulance with the realization he could not move his right side and could not speak. John was told he’d had a hemorrhagic stroke that affected the right side of his body and he was admitted to Martin Memorial for continued care.

When John awoke the next day, he knew his life would never be the same. He was still unable to move his right arm and leg; he couldn’t understand or formulate speech and was unable to see from the right eye.

It was apparent that John was going to need to relearn the skills of everyday living. Physical, occupational and speech therapy began almost immediately in the hospital setting to evaluate his needs. John made gains every day and was soon able to sit on the edge of the bed and feed himself. After a while, he was able to stand with a walker, take a few steps and communicate his needs verbally.

John still has more work ahead of him as he continues rehabilitation outside the hospital. But without the team of skilled rehabilitation team members who helped him immediately after his initial treatment, John would not have progressed as well as he has.

Unfortunately, John’s case is not unique – stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States. But with the proper treatment and care following a stroke, patients can continue to live happy, productive lives.

--Tara Anstensen
Physical Therapy Assistant

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much Understanding Heart Failure is Key!

A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog about Tim Russert’s death from a heart attack. What are the odds that another celebrity would die of heart failure about a week later? Tim Russert died of coronary thrombosis, which is the rupture of a cholesterol plaque in an artery. George Carlin was a comedian/actor who burned the candle at both ends. He had a heart attack at the age of 41, which may have been precipitated by his admitted drug use. On June 22, the 71 year-old went to the hospital with chest pain and passed away from heart failure. I wanted to know more – What is heart failure?

I talked to Dr. Amy Eversole, Cardiologist at Stuart Cardiology; she explained that there are different types of heart failures:

Systolic heart failure is when the heart is not contracting well; therefore, the heart cannot pump with the necessary force to push enough blood into circulation. This is the most common type of heart failure.

Diastolic heart failure is when the muscle of the heart is very thick and does not relax well, preventing blood from filling the heart.

Heart failure has many causes; it can be the last stage of heart diseases or circulation diseases. The weak pump action of the heart means that less blood is sent to the kidneys; they respond by retaining water and salt which increases fluid buildup in the body and causes widespread damage. The most common causes of heart failure are hypertension (high blood pressure) and coronary artery disease.

Other common causes of heart failure are:
Damage after a heart attack
Valvular heart disease
Myocarditis
Diabetes
Family history of heart disease
Obesity
Congenital heart disease
Cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats
Excess alcohol consumption
A diet high in salt

The signs and symptoms of heart failure are:
Shortness of breath or exertion occurring at rest
Swelling in legs and abdomen
Difficulty sleeping
Palpitations
Decreased urine production
Nausea and vomiting

People who survive heart failure need to be followed closely by a physician or cardiologist. They usually have to control their blood pressure through medication such as ACE inhibitors, diuretics, digoxin and beta blockers to improve blood circulation and control body fluid.

Cardiologists recommend the following:
Eliminate smoking and alcohol consumption as both decrease the pumping efficiency of the heart
Avoid foods high in salt and restrict your fluid intake
One of the most important things you can do for the health of your heart is to EXERCISE!

-- Sophie Sawicki

Marketing Representative

Prevent Stroke with Information at Hand

As if women between the ages of 35-54 didn’t have enough to worry about, now a recent article in Newsweek indicates that the proportion of women between those ages having strokes has nearly tripled in the last decade. That is a very alarming statistic!

OK, so why? What has changed? Are women suddenly different now than they were 10 years ago? My answer is, “I’m not sure” to all three questions. I do know that our lives have changed significantly over the past decade.

Consider these questions based on how things were 10 years ago: Could you put your cell phone (if you had one) in the front pocket of your jeans and have nobody notice? Could you sit at the breakfast table and reply to e-mail from work on your day off so you wouldn't be too busy when you got back? Did you know what trans-fat was? Did you even think that women had strokes at 40 years old? If you are like me, you probably answered no to all of these questions.

Clearly life is different now than it was then. It makes sense that changes in our lives make us a bit different too. Science has done a great job of pointing out that women are having strokes three times as often as they were a decade ago, but science has not really been able to say exactly why.

Until those answers are available, the one way to protect yourself is to maximize your knowledge while minimizing your risk. That includes knowing the signs and symptoms of a stroke:

1) Sudden numbness or weakness, typically on one side of the body
2) Sudden difficulty speaking
3) Sudden headache
4) Sudden blurry vision
5) Sudden dizziness, or difficulty with balance or coordination

(Other tests of a possible stroke include an inability to form a smile or raise both arms above the head.)

Minimize your risk by: quitting smoking (especially if you are on birth control pills); controlling high blood pressure, cholesterol levels and diabetes; lowering your body mass index (BMI) and reducing waist circumferences, both of which have been linked to increased risk.

Many things in life are unavoidable but together we can make some of them preventable.

--John Romano, RN, BSN
Director of Medical Surgical and Neuroscience

A Real “Dear John” Letter

Ordinarily, I delete emails that have been forwarded over and over again – especially the ones that insist you need to send it to everyone on your address list. But when I got this e-mail I had to open it (mainly because I am the director of the neuroscience unit) to see what kind of crazy advice people are spreading on the Internet. It read:

Subject: FW: FW: FW: FW: A SIGN OF STROKE
Importance: High
A MUST READ! A SIGN OF STROKE

It only takes a minute to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within three hours, he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within three hours, which is tough.

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word:

During a barbecue, a friend stumbled and took a little fall – she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital – at 6 p.m., Ingrid passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the barbecue. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead…

I really think there are people out there who want to help others, which is why e-mails like this are forwarded so often. I agree with much of the content, because stroke can be deadly: it’s the third-leading cause of death in America today and a major cause of severe, long-term disability.

Identifying a stroke and getting treatment quickly is crucial, because there’s a strict three-hour window for treating certain types (but not all) strokes. A medicine can be given in some cases that dissolves clots that occlude blood flow to your brain.

But there are definitive criteria that must be met before the medicine can be safely given, which is why a thorough screening takes place in the emergency department to determine eligibility. After three hours, it is generally considered too dangerous to give the medicine.

That’s why it’s extremely important to recognize when a stroke is occurring and get immediate medical care if you or someone you know is experiencing one. The five warning signs of an acute stroke are:

• Sudden numbness of the face, arms or legs, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden severe headaches with no known cause.

If you recognize these signs taking place, call 911 immediately or have someone drive the stroke victim directly to the hospital. Ingrid might be alive today if someone had recognized the signs.

--John Romano, RN, BSN
Director of Medical Surgical and Neuroscience