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IF YOU THINK YOU ARE HAVING A STROKE ACT FAST:

If you have the below symptoms, CALL 911 (US) or you local EMERGENCY #

Face: Try smiling, does you face droop on one side?

Arms: Can you raise both arms, does one drift downwards?

Slur: Do you slur your words when reciting a simple sentence?

Time: When did these symptoms start occurring?

Every stroke patient is different.

There are two different kinds of stroke; an ischemic stroke, in which something blocks the flow of blood to part of the brain, and a hemorrhagic stroke, in which a blood vessel in the brain begins to leak. You can think of these as blockages or blowouts.

An ischemic stroke is often caused by a blood clot, often a very tiny blood clot, blocking a capillary in the brain. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients around the body, including the brain. The areas of brain tissue "downstream" of the blockage will begin to shut down, and if blood flow is not restored fairly quickly, brain tissue will begin to die. This can happen within a few minutes. Depending on where in the brain this happens, it can affect speech, sight, balance, or the control of large muscle systems. This is why ER doctors often ask patients to squeeze the doctor's hand or arms, to see if one hand is appreciably stronger than the other; this might indicate where the blockage occurred.

A hemorrhagic stroke is often the result of high blood pressure, called "hypertension". At times of stress or excitement, a weakened area in a blood vessel can rupture, leaking blood into the surrounding brain tissue. Blood outside a blood vessel is toxic to surrounding tissue, causing the tissue to die. Depending on the area of the rupture, any part of the brain can be affected, causing blindness or vision changes, inability or difficulty in speaking or hearing, muscle weakness or paralysis, or death.

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14y ago

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