Knowing the Signs Knowing the Risks
What is your wife's name? Wife's name is Lovina.
Uh huh, and you have - how many children do
you have? Uh . . .
Daniel Emplaeo is only 42. Coming back from
the massive stroke that almost killed him
is a painful and heroic struggle for this
former bus driver.
So, Daniel, can you tell us your name today?
Um, uh . . .
Tell us your whole name. Whole name is Da
. . .
Mr. Emplaeo has two teenage children and a
new baby. Now he's paralyzed on his right
side, can barely speak, and is often confused.
He say he is having a headache, and I never
thought, you know, I don't have any idea.
It's, I thought it's just, you know, an ordinary
headache.
Two days before he collapsed, he complained
of some blurriness in his eyes, but the symptoms
passed, so he went to work.
On the Sunday he's complaining a bit of a
little blurry in his eye. Following the next
Monday it's his day off, and in the afternoon
he go into our back yard. He water the plants.
I noticed that he's trying to lift his leg,
but since he can't lift it that he's, he can't
talk already. And, yeah, he can't move his
other part of the body already.
So that's the time I called 911. I was so
afraid because two years ago his father died
because of stroke.
Mr. Emplaeo was at high risk for a stroke,
but, like so many of us, didn't recognize
or pay attention to the warning signs.
It was the same for Sylvia Saxon. Despite
having high blood pressure, diabetes, and
a family history, her stroke came as a surprise.
When my foot went to sleep, I hadn't thought
it could be a stroke. I thought it was just
when you're sitting down or laying down like
you do and your foot go to sleep.
I did not really connect it to the signs of
a stroke.
Luckily for her husband, Robert, Alma Shanley
did connect his symptoms with the fact that
he was having a stroke.
He sat down in the chair and he kept staring
at me, and I thought he was fooling around
with me at first. And I said to him, "This
is not funny, Robert."
I could not speak. All I knew, she was my
wife, and I reached over and took her hand.
And then, and I couldn't remember the names
of my grandchildren, or my daughters. It was
a complete blank.
And I said to him, "You're having a stroke.
Stay here. I'm calling the doctor. I'm calling
the ambulance."
Unlike a heart attack, where people develop
crushing pain, oftentimes when a person has
a stroke, there's no pain at all. What happens
is they lose function.
Quickly recognizing the signs of a stroke
is key to surviving a stroke. And the signs
can be subtle, like Sylvia Saxon's, when her
foot suddenly went to sleep, or more profound
like Robert Shanley's, when he suddenly couldn't
speak.
What is consistent is that the symptoms occur
suddenly.
Sammy, I'm Dr. Richardson.
Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm,
or leg, especially on one side of the body.
Sudden confusion or trouble speaking.
Sudden trouble seeing. Sudden trouble walking,
dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
While knowing the warning signs of a stroke
is crucial, knowing if you are at risk for
a stroke is equally vital.
Some of the risk factors for stroke are hypertension.
. . Diabetes, high cholesterol. Obesity, physical
inactivity. Cigarette smoking. In some cases
obstructive sleep apnea.
A genetic background for stroke. African Americans
and Hispanics have a higher risk of stroke,
and we don't exactly know why that is.
There are many factors that will increase
a patient's risk for stroke. Among the-, primarily
among those is hypertension. Second hypertension.
Third hypertension. [laughs]
Hypertension is a silent killer. I describe
it as driving with one foot on the gas and
one foot on the brake.
Your car runs beautifully. You don't even
really notice it. But what happens, you burn
the engine, you burn out the brakes much sooner
than they normally would, and that's exactly
what happens with hypertension.
It's slowly wearing out your organs. Your
brain, your blood vessels, your heart, your
kidneys, and you're not aware of it until
you have a serious event.
Even when people know they're at high risk
for stroke, and even when they know the warning
signs, too often when something terrible happens,
they still don't connect the dots.
I'm a stroke survivor. At age 31 I had a very
sudden, severe headache, nausea, and became
very gawky.
Despite many years of training, and experience
as a physician, I went to bed.
I'm gonna sleep it off. An hour later I got
up and walked into a wall. Missed the doorway.
My wife said, "I’m taking you the hospital."
She drove me to the hospital. Now, I did very
well. I'm very, very lucky. There were two
mistakes. One, I went to sleep. Two, she drove
me. She should have called 911.
What's our ETA Bud. ETA to Alta Bates? Five
minutes. Five minutes.
What are the signs and symptoms of a stroke?
They include weakness on one side, trouble
speaking, trouble seeing, trouble walking.
Any and all occur suddenly and might only
last for a moment. What are the major risk
factors for a stroke?
Having high blood pressure, being overweight,
being a minority, being a woman on hormone
replacement therapy, being a smoker.
What should you do if you think a person is
having a stroke? Act fast. Do this simple
test.
Ask the person to smile.
Does one side of the face droop?
Ask the person to raise both arms.
Does one arm drip drift downward?
Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence.
Are the words slurred? Can they repeat the
sentence correctly?
Call 911.
Time is important, because brain cells are
dying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY9Z0FHQzPY
Stroke Medical Condition Overview
A stroke is an event that occurs when blood
flow to the brain is stopped or interrupted.
Decreases in blood flow to the brain can cause
symptoms including: sudden numbness, confusion,
difficulty with seeing and speaking, and abrupt
severe headaches.
There are two general types of stroke: Ischemic
and Hemmorhagic.
Ischemic strokes are caused by blood clots
that may block blood vessels in the brain.
Hemorrhagic strokes are caused by broken blood
vessels in the brain that result in bleeding
and loss of blood supply.
Patients at risk for strokes include those
that have high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
or diabetes. Alcohol abuse, illegal drug use,
and cigarette smoking have also been linked
to significant increases in stroke risk.
Strokes are serious medical emergencies and
can often be difficult to treat. Some strokes
require blood thinners and other medications
to prevent future blood clots; others may
require surgery or significant prolonged care.
Post stroke rehabilitation is often needed
to help patients overcome disabilities that
result from stroke damage. The best way to
deal with strokes is to prevent them from
occurring at all. Eat a healthy balanced diet,
monitor your cholesterol carefully, and get
plenty of appropriate exercise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VEPmLPsBGM
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