Strokes are prevalent causes of death across the globe and a significant cause of severe lifelong disability. It is essential to learn and identify the warning signs of a stroke to minimize the consequences of this event that has the potential to be life-threatening.
People over the age of fifty are at a higher risk of stroke, and the risk keeps increasing as you get older. Men and people diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease are more prone to risk.
Getting treatment at the earliest in the best hospital for neurology in Delhi should be your priority when dealing with a stroke. Every second will matter because each moment spent without oxygen damages your brain. You will want to be able to detect the signs of a stroke so that you can get to the hospital at the earliest.
Given below are signs to identify strokes:
Recognizing the early signs and symptoms of a stroke is essential. Thankfully, they are easy to learn and understand.
F.A.S.T.: F.A.S.T. is the most common and essential acronym to help you remember all the early signs of a stroke.
- Face Drooping: One side of your face droops or becomes numb. When asked to smile, your smile looks uneven and different.
- Arm Weakness: One arm will start to feel weak or numb. When asked to raise both your arms, one of your arms will drift downward.
- Speech Difficulty: You will have trouble while speaking. Your speech will sound slurred, and the words will be challenging to understand. When you are asked to repeat a simple sentence like “The sky is dark,” you will have trouble repeating it correctly.
- Time to Call the Hospital: If you start showing any of the above symptoms, call an ambulance immediately. Even if the symptoms seem to go away, get an ambulance at the earliest and go to the hospital. Note down the time when the symptoms first appeared and visit the top and best hospital for neurology in Delhi at the earliest, if you are a resident of the capital city.
Fast-chart
Keep the F.A.S.T. list somewhere where you can find and see it quickly- on the wall of your room, for example. This will help you to learn and remember it quickly.
Other Stroke Warning Signs
The F.A.S.T. list covers the most common signs of a stroke, but there are a couple more you should know.
- Senior men suffering from prolonged dizziness
- You feel numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, located on any one side of the body. The brain controls each side of the body from a different hemisphere. So, a stroke will affect one half of your body.
- Confusion or trouble understanding. If you suddenly start to feel confused and have difficulty in comprehending things you usually had no problems managing, it could be a sign of stroke.
- Trouble seeing through one or both of your eyes. A stroke can affect the area of the brain managing vision. A sudden loss of vision is thus a sign of stroke.
- You feel sudden dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, trouble walking. The keyword here being sudden. One moment you can be fit and fine, but, in the next, you can feel dizzy or have trouble keeping or maintaining your balance. It is another sign that your brain is being affected by a stroke.
- You feel a sudden and severe headache with no apparent reason. A stroke can cause a very unexpected, and an excruciating headache that will not seem to be related to your usual headache triggers.