National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is seeking Patients for Clinical Trails
ninds.nih.gov/index.htm If you are interested
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This might be a lifesaver if we can remember the three questions! "Is It a Stroke? "
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster for the stroke victim. A stroke victim may suffer brain damagefont> when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say any bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple
questions:
* Ask the individual to smile.
* Ask him or her to raise both arms.
* Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.
* If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
After discovering that a group of non medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions.
They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual
meeting last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt
diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.
Know the warning signs!
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden severe headache with no known cause
Every 53 seconds, someone in America has a stroke. About 600,000 Americans will have a stroke this year & 160,000 of them will die. In fact, stroke is our nations No. 3 killer, and one of the leading causes of disability.
The American Heart Association spends more on stroke related research, and stroke related programs than any other non-profit organization, second only to the federal government.
In November 1998, the American Heart Association made the decision to rename its Stroke Division. It is now the American Stroke Association, A Division of the American Heart Association.
Are You At Risk For Stroke?
By Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld...Published: October 9, 2005
This is the fourth article in PARADE’s Year of the Heart series, developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association. This report focuses on stroke in women and the factors that make them particularly vulnerable.
It comes as a surprise to most people that stroke (like a heart attack) is not exclusively a disease of men. In fact, it’s the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious, long term disability in American women. More than half of the 700,000 strokes every year in this country occur in women, and more than 100,000 of them die as a result.
Many doctors still don’t take cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke) in women very seriously because it is so uncommon during the reproductive years. That’s probably due to the plentiful supply of female hormone (estrogen) that the ovaries make before menopause.
What is a stroke? Stroke refers to brain damage resulting from the interruption of its blood supply. In 88% of cases, the stroke is ischemic—that is- a clot suddenly obstructs an artery in the brain. Clots can form in the arteries when plaques that have built up within them for months or years suddenly rupture.
A clot may either originate in a brain artery or travel there from elsewhere in the body—for example, from the carotid arteries in the neck or from the heart during a rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation.
Bleeding within the brain is the second, much less common, form of stroke. A hemorrhage most often results from the rupture of one of the brain’s arteries or after an injury to the head. Hemorrhagic strokes are more common in women than than in men.
Whether due to a clot or bleeding, the symptoms of a stroke are similar in both sexes. When they clear up within 24 hours (usually sooner), we call it a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, rather than a stroke. But don’t dismiss a TIA simply because its symptoms are short lived. It’s an emergency —a warning that a full-blown stroke may be on the way. (See “When To Call 911.”)
Be aware of these factors
The risk factors that predispose both sexes to a stroke sow their seeds early in life. To reduce your vulnerability, that’s when you should control them. Here are the more important risk factors and how they can be minimized. Some are common to both sexes; others are more relevant in women:
Family history. If your parents or siblings suffered a stroke, you are at twice the risk of having one too.
There’s little you can do about it yourself, but knowing that your genes predispose you should be a motivation to deal with the other risk factors that you can do something about.
High blood pressure. This is the single most important contributor to stroke in both sexes.
Other risks that should be monitored include
Elevated cholesterol
Diabetes
Overweight:
Each of which should be treated when abnormal—and the sooner, the better.
They all can begin early in life and hasten the formation of arterial blockages in the brain.
Cigarettes. Smoking is a major risk factor for both sexes, but women smokers are much more likely to have a stroke than nonsmokers or male smokers. If your husband smokes too, your risk is several times higher.
If you don’t smoke but he does, your stroke risk still rises.
Pregnancy. Because the blood clots more easily during those nine months, and blood pressure increases somewhat, pregnancy raises the risk of stroke slightly.
Birth control pills. Most increase the blood’s tendency to clot, especially in women over 35. The newer, lower dose contraceptive pills are thought to be safer, but only for those not already at increased risk.
Tamoxifen. This drug protects women at high risk from developing breast cancer and increases survival in those who have it. But it also raises vulnerability to a stroke. Fortunately, the risk is small and should not deter you from using tamoxifen if needed. Discuss with your doctor whether you should take one of the new aromatase inhibitors instead, since they also protect against breast cancer but with no risk of stroke.
Protect Yourself
By making the following lifestyle choices, you can reduce your risk of a stroke:
Regular exercise. Sustained physical activity 30 to 60 minutes on most days of the week (depending on your age and fitness) will reduce your risk of stroke, whatever your age.
The right foods. These include foods rich in beta carotene: oranges, green vegetables and carrots. (But avoid beta-carotene supplements: They don’t work and can be harmful.) Potassium also is protective. Just one serving daily of bananas, potatoes and other potassium rich foods reduces stroke risk by 40%.
Aspirin in low doses. In a recently released report on 40,000 healthy women who had been observed for more than 10 years, an aspirin every other day reduced the risk of a stroke.
Alcohol in moderation. One or two drinks a day slightly reduces risk of stroke. But beware: More than four drinks a day greatly increases the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke.
The Facts
More than half of all strokes in this country (55%) occur in women, mostly in those past menopause.
More women than men die from strokes: 60% of stroke fatalities are women.
A stroke can happen during a woman’s reproductive years. It strikes more than 13,000 women under the age of 45 every year, sometimes in their 30s or even 20s. (That’s 11% more strokes than in men in the same age group.)
Black women are at greater risk of dying from a stroke than Caucasians. This is the case regardless of age.
Lowering your blood pressure can help lower your risk for a stroke and also lower your risk of accelerated brain aging and mental decline (impaired memory, thinking, judgment and the ability to learn).
Source: The American Heart Association
When To Call 911
The clot busting drug TPA (tissue plasminogen activator), used to treat stroke, will help if given within three hours of the onset of a stroke. If you suddenly develop one or more of the following symptoms, call 911 immediately (an ambulance, with its trained crew, is always best) or have someone get you to an emergency room as quickly as possible:
Numbness or weakness in one side of the face, an arm, a leg or another part of the body.
Impaired vision in one eye or double vision.
Confusion. You can’t figure out what’s going on.
Trouble speaking or swallowing.
Dizziness, loss of balance, unsteady walking.
Severe headache.
You Can Get Your Life Back
“It’s a victory for all stroke survivors every time I put on my uniform.” By David Oliver Relin...Published: September 24, 2006
If you watch the New England Patriots play football look for a tough linebacker in a No. 54 jersey diving recklessly to make tackles.
Amid the excitement of the new NFL season, it’s easy to forget that No. 54 is Tedy Bruschi (pronounced BREW-ski), a stroke survivor who has accomplished one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of professional sports.
Only last year, most people assumed Bruschi would never play football again. Today, his story is an inspiration to millions who have endured health setbacks and worried whether they would ever rebound.
On Feb. 6, 2005, Bruschi led the Patriots to a 24-21 victory in Super Bowl XXXIX, with six solo tackles and a timely fourth quarter interception against the Philadelphia Eagles. His wife Heidi recently had given birth to their third child, Dante. And Bruschi had been selected to play in his first Pro Bowl, the NFL’s ultimate honor. “Right then,” Bruschi says, “my life couldn’t have been any better.”
But 10 days later, at 4 a.m. on Feb. 16, Bruschi awoke in pain. “My left arm and leg felt numb, and I had a severe headache,” he says. “I told myself to tough it out and try to sleep it off. That was exactly the wrong thing to do.” Some five hours later when his oldest child, 5-year-old Tedy Jr., bounced into bed and startled him Bruschi realized he had lost his left field of vision in both eyes. “That really scared me,” he says, “so I asked my wife to call 9-1-1.”
After Bruschi had a CAT scan at Massachusetts General, a neurologist told him he’d suffered a stroke. “I thought he had to be joking,” Bruschi says. “I was 31 years old, in the best shape of my life. I thought a stroke only happened to elderly people.
But I learned a stroke can hit anyone at any time, and if it does, you need to get to a hospital as fast as you can.”
Each year, about 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke, a sudden injury to the brain caused by a blood vessel bursting or becoming blocked. “Your brain needs blood and oxygen,” explains Dr. Larry Goldstein, chair of the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association. “And when it doesn’t get them, it begins to die.”
Stroke causes 157,000 deaths, making it the nation’s No. 3 killer, behind heart disease and cancer. Fully one third of victims are under 65, and even children can suffer a stroke.
“If you remember only one thing about stroke,” Dr. Goldstein advises, “remember to call 9-1-1 as soon as symptoms begin. That’s why we say ‘time lost is brain lost.’”
Patients who get to a hospital in the first three hours after the onset of a stroke may be treated with a clot busting drug, which can lessen the stroke’s severity and improve recovery.
In Bruschi’s case, a blood clot had passed through a small hole in the upper chamber of his heart and lodged in his brain. Since he was diagnosed after the three hour window, the drug couldn’t help. “If the clot had moved a few more millimeters, it could have killed me,” Bruschi says. “In a way, I was lucky.”
Still, Bruschi took stock of how much he’d lost. “At first, Heidi had to take care of everything,” he recalls. “I couldn’t even pick up my own children. I figured I’d never play football again. But what really bothered me was: Could I ever be a capable husband and father again?”
Following a stroke, 50-70% of victims regain “functional independence.” “Many people make a full recovery,” Dr. Goldstein says. “But the amount of recovery depends on the severity of the stroke.
In general, younger people like Tedy tend to improve more quickly. And the more fit a person is beforehand likely affects how well they’ll do with rehabilitation.”
Initially, Bruschi’s goals were modest. Working with a physical therapist, he learned how to walk without stumbling and to throw a ball. These baby steps might have discouraged many pro athletes, but Bruschi embraced every bit of progress.
“I tried to celebrate the small victories,” he says. Adds Heidi, “Tedy approached the healing process with great optimism. He viewed every day as a second chance at life.”
Indeed, when the American Stroke Association surveyed patients to identify the “secret ingredients to successful stroke survival,” they found that acceptance of the situation, staying positive and having support were key.
On Oct. 30, 2005, Tedy once again took the field as a Patriot. “I got unanimous clearance from every physician who examined me,” he says. Bruschi made 10 tackles in a victory over Buffalo and was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year for the 2005 season.
This weekend, presuming a wrist Bruschi injured in training camp has healed, the emotional heart of the Patriots’ defense will take the field again, beating beneath a No. 54 jersey. “I feel like it’s a victory for all stroke survivors every time I put on my uniform,” says Bruschi. “I want people to know that, if I can come back after a stroke and play pro football, you can do whatever it takes to get your life back too.”
Read about Tedy's Team, which raises stroke awareness and money for stroke research, at strokeassociation.org/tedysteam.
