Would you know if you were having a STROKE?
A special thanks to reader Dorothee for sending the PSA video link released by the American Stroke Association and the Ad Council to raise stroke awareness within the African-American community, and the stroke information. Did you know last month was a national stroke awareness month?
Last week, I attended a stroke prevention seminar conducted by a pharmaceutical company, and had not really thought about doing a post anytime soon; therefore, the timing could not have been better so thanks again for the suggestion.
This is a lengthy post, more informational for those seeking an easy, quick point of reference on stroke information. Having a stroke isn't just an old person's ailment, so us young in age folks should really know how to recognize the signs and symptoms and follow a lifestyle which will prevent the future occurrence. Prevention time is NOW even if you are in your teens, 20s, 30s etc., because we are planning NOW to stay healthy for the future.
According to the National Stroke Association:
- -- ½ of all black women will die from stroke or heart disease
- -- blacks are twice as likely to die from stroke than whites
- -- in the 45-54 age group, black males have a 3 times greater risk than white males of having a stroke
In addition, every 45 seconds, someone in America suffers from a stroke (there are 700,000 new or recurrent strokes annually). Emergency medical treatment at the onset of symptoms may greatly reduce brain injury and disability.
TIA: Warning signs of a coming stroke
TIA (transient ischemic attack) and stroke symptoms occur suddenly:
- -- Brief period of weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
- -- Brief period of confusion or trouble speaking or understanding
- -- Trouble seeing in one or both eyes for a brief period of time
- -- Trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination for a brief period of time
- -- Brief period of severe headache with no known cause
- -- Never ignore these signs—even if they go away
If you think you are having a TIA or stroke, call 9-1-1 immediately or go to the nearest emergency room.
Source: Aggrenox.coom
Follow the links at the jump to find out what causes stokes and what you may do to try to prevent a stroke from occurring.
Risk Factors:
1. Hypertension or high blood pressure -- the #1 risk factor and 1 in three blacks have hypertension
2. Diabetes—those with diabetes have an increased risk of having a stroke
3. Sickle Cell Anemia—the sickle shaped blood cells can block blood vessels to the brain, decreasing oxygen and blood to the brain, resulting in a stroke
4. Obesity and smoking increase the risk of stroke and both have a high incidence of occurrence in the black population
If you or someone you know has one or more of these risk factors, lifestyle or medication changes need to be made. Consult with your physician and you can download and print this stroke reduction guide to reduce your risk.
African American Stroke Facts:
Interesting Facts:
1. Blacks (African Americans) have twice the mortality from stroke compared with whites
2. Blacks have more severe and disabling strokes compared with whites
3. Black women have a lower 1-year survival following ischemic stroke compared with whites
4. Blacks have twice the risk of first ever strokes compared with whites
5. Among those aged 20 - 44 years of age, Blacks are 2.4 times more likely to have a stroke compared with whites
6. Blacks are significantly less likely to receive tPA compared with whites
Source: Stroke.org
Now do yourself and/or your loved ones a favor and print all of this literature, wrap it in a pretty bow, find the prettiest gift bag, give it to them and tell them you love them, you care, and you want grow old with them.
If you want links to support groups and other resources just send me an email and I will forward a link to you.
Educational Material to Download and Print
8 Page Stroke Brochure: Pdf file
Stroke High Blood Pressure Brochure: MS Word doc file
RESOURCES
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Thanks for this informative post!! Keep up the great work.
No. Thank you Dorothee. :)