A new way to INDICATE when someone is having a STROKE

Thanks for the new bit of info. s&f

My grandma had a stroke years ago, she survived but now has a permanent stutter. She had to learn how to talk again and it was difficult at first but we can all have laugh about it now.

Others are not so fortunate.

Thanks again for spreading the word.

reply to post by pheonix358


You are just looking for anything that isn't normal. For example prehospital providers use the L.A. Stroke screen and Cincinnati stroke screen. This would consist of having your patient holdnboth arms out in front, if one drops, suspect stroke. If you see facial drooping, suspect stroke. Have them grip both of your hands with both of their hands. If they have no grip in one hand etc, suspect stroke. Also to add usually the effected side of the body that is showing symptoms is usually the opposite side of the brain which is affected.

reply to post by violet


These are how ems providers detect strokes everyday as it's part honour certification in stroke management.

reply to post by LoverBoy


Of our.......sorry for typos

reply to post by LoverBoy


Yes I'm sure they are but I don't want people to think if these symptoms aren't present, that it's not a stroke.

Stroke symtoms
By the way I was not home alone when it started. My husband was there. Lots of people are alone though and could not perform their own tests to tell. At the rehab centre, some others told me they had a massive headache. I had no headache. No blurred vision, no slurred speech. Most however told me they fell like I did.

reply to post by violet


The only way to tell is a ct scan. Again the test I provided is the one paramedics use as found in ncoems protocols.

reply to post by LoverBoy


The CT. Scan is done after the damage is done. I had a massive ischemic stroke. Blood clot in the brain.
The questions asked to me by medical staff was who is the president of the United States. I answered correctly. Spoke normally. It was too late for all the tests mentioned in the OP.
So do you think these tests could be done in the case of a mini stroke or TIA ?

Looking back I should never have ignored my face looking crooked one day, perhaps I had a Mini stroke?



The thing is if one had these early warnings, most doctors are not going to perform a CT scan to see if a stroke occurred. It's expensive equipment, most medical plans don't cover the cost of.I lived near a major city that had this fancy equipment. They just don't go around performing these scans just because you said my foot felt numb, or i slurred my speech today. Correct or not? They do it when its evident you most likely did to look at the cause or assess the damage.

Please correct me if I'm wrong




I removed my first post. It was too personal.

reply to post by violet


No you HAVE to have a ct done to tell what kind it is as well as blood work. The ct tells you if its ischemic.or a bleed as well as damage done. Yes they are expensive but most people don't think about that at the time. Tia's transient ischemic attacks present with stroke like symptoms but all effects reverse in 24 hours. They are what a lot of people call mini strokes. Now.....Tia's are said to be a precursor for a stroke. I will repeat again, there is NO way to tell definitively what kind of stroke a person is having without a ct scan. If a person fails one of the stroke tests I provided, or have a history, we notify the nearest stroke center and either transport there, or fly the patient out via helicopter.

Please don't give people wrong information. I know lots of people who read a few articles and think they are certified in the subject. This is my job...

dont mean to $*** on anyones cornflakes appreciate your attempt to teach and help the public, and are all the people claiming to be medics here actually medics?? i been for years and this is called the prehospital cincinatti stroke scale- i been using this method for years

(University of Cincinnati College of Medicine)


heres the link www.encsn.org...

Thanks for the information.

reply to post by AG3NT47


I don't know are they? I already mentioned the Cincinnati and LA ones

I will give some more information on strokes which are now termed "brain attack":

Causes:
Thrombus clot, most common in the middle aged and elderly. It causes ischemia/lack of blood supply and lack of oxygen to brain tissue and results in congestion and swelling/edema in the brain. The swelling will produce more symptoms than the clot itself, and symptoms will go away when the swelling goes down. Symptoms from the swelling includes loss of functioning of which I have details further down this post.

Embolism or traveling clot, which is the second most common cause. The embolism will move around until it occludes the blood vessel. Embolisms include a fragment of a clot, tumor, fat, bacteria or air. These occur in any age group, especially if they have rheumatic heart disease, endocarditis, A-fib and cardiac arrhythmias, post op open heart surgery, and post traumatic valvular diseases. The stroke occurs within 10-20 seconds of the occlusion and without warning.

Hemorrhage, which can occur suddenly at any age. This is usually related to hypertension or an aneurysm causing a sudden rupture of a cerebral artery, which reduces the blood supply to the areas served by this artery. Blood will accumulate in the brain and start compressing brain tissue causing more damage.

Symptoms:
Premonitory or the warning signs....drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, confusion. These symptoms are not specific and most don't think they are having a stroke.

Generalized....ache but more severe and persistent, vomiting, mental impairment, seizures, stiff neck, fever, disorientation and coma.

Other more specific signs resulting from the stroke impacting the cranial nerves....
visual impairments such as blindness in one eye or half of each eye, either the same half or opposite halves
difficulty speaking, slurred speech
difficulty with swallowing
drooping eyelids
seeing double
incontinence
loss of taste
loss of smell
numbness and tingling
a decrease in coordination

With a TIA or transient ischemic attacks, which are mini strokes caused by micro sized clots being stuck in smaller vessels like arterioles, these cause temporary symptoms of eye blurriness, speech difficulties, temporary blindness on the same side which the TIA is occurring, tremors, weakness or numbness on the opposite side where the TIA is occurring, and dizziness. These TIA's are warning signs that a larger stroke can happen. The clot can get dislodged when the artery spasms and then circulation can return and the symptoms will stop. These are not to be taken lightly!

TIA's are the least severe. A progressive stroke or evolving stroke will start out with slight neurological impairments like the ones I listed and will continue to get worse within 24-48 hours. A completed stroke will be as bad as its going to get when it happens.

I know this is a more comprehensive list but I at least wanted to expand on the information already given. It is extremely important that anyone having any type of impairment like these described been seen immediately!!!
Time is extremely important and clot buster medication must be given within 3-4 hours when symptoms start appearing. This medication can help save the person having the stroke from permanent paralysis!

Also, the medical tests that are usually needed are MRI or CT scan which will show which type of stroke it is or if its a tumor, angiography which will show the outline of blood vessels, and an EEG.

Hope this helps anyone that wanted to know more. BTW I just graduated from an RN school two weeks ago and am testing for my state license in a couple of weeks, if anyone was curious about my medical background.

reply to post by justsaying


Thank you that comprehensive report. Kudos!

P

I think if you are at a point where you have to be asking someone to do these things you might want to be on your way to the hospital instead of asking them to stick their tongue out

thanks to everyone who added more info

i dont take any credit for this thread as Aa friend

posted it on their facebook page and asked

everyone to send it to as many people as possible

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Sorry that i could not add much myself

reply to post by maryhinge
I had a stroke 5 years ago,I'm ok now though but one of the first signs is I FEEL FUNNY but you judt don't know how to explain what the funny bit is, 9 hours later my husband saw my face drop and called the ambulance.

Even doctors are ignorant to it I actually went to the doctors several months before stating that i felt strange all she did was measured my blood pressure which was fine now if only she had put the stethoscope to my carotid artery she would of known and I wouldn't of had this dreadful thing happen to me, so if you feel strange ask the doctor to listen to your neck, I didn't even know what a stroke was, and I'm one of the lucky ones to pull through it even though my balance is still badly affected. take care everyone MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

reply to post by PlanetxIsComing


really really glad your ok
my dad had mini strokes and also blockages in the blood flow to is retina
and is partially blind like he has tunnel vision

but really glad you pulled through

MERRY CHRISTMAS

reply to post by maryhinge


other signs of stroke :

- Numbness in body parts [ Unilateral / bilateral ]
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Nausea / Vomiting
- CT scan : Signs of infarction / hemorrhage
- Visual disturbance

Types : Stroke can be either Infarction [ Due to occlusion of the blood vessel leading to the brain ] or Hemorrhage [ Rupture of the blood vessel ].

Risk Factors :

- Age [ Older people > Younger ]
- Hypertension