Hi, I'm Dr. Robert Brown,
a neurologist at Mayo Clinic.
And I'm here to answer some of
the important question you
may have about strokes.
The fast acronym, F.A.S.T.,
is a good way of remembering
stroke symptoms and what to do if you or
a friend or loved one
experiences those symptoms.
F for facial weakness,
A for arm weakness,
S for speech slurring, and
T for time. Time to call 911
should those symptoms occur.
Sometimes stroke symptoms may be temporary,
lasting only several minutes or hours,
and this is called a transient
ischemic attack.
The symptoms should not be
ignored even if they are temporary.
The risk of stroke is markedly increased in
the days and weeks
after those symptoms occur,
so seek emergency evaluation to clarify why
the symptoms occurred and how
best to prevent a future stroke.
An aneurysm is a small saccular-shaped
or berry-shaped out-pouching
off of an artery in the brain.
About two to three percent of the population has
a brain aneurysm, and
most never cause any symptoms.
But on occasion, that aneurysm can rupture,
leading to bleeding into
and surrounding the brain,
a bleeding type of stroke
called a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
People with that type
of hemorrhage typically present
with a sudden onset of
a very severe headache,
unlike anything they've
ever experienced before,
and they should seek emergency medical care.
The brain cells are affected
very quickly after a stroke occurs.
In the most common type of stroke, called an
ischemic stroke, or cerebral infarction,
there's a lack of blood flow to
an area of the brain
leading the brain cells to
begin to die off due to a lack
of oxygen and other nutrients.
Emergency treatments can sometimes
be used to restore the blood flow.
Stroke treatments are most effective if they
can be used early
after stroke symptoms occur.
Most strokes are preventable.
And stroke prevention is far more effective
than trying to treat a stroke
after it has occurred.
There are both non-modifiable risk factors,
those things we cannot change,
and modifiable risk factors,
those things that can be changed.
Non-modifiable risk factors include age,
race, gender, and family history of stroke.
Modifiable risk factors
include high blood pressure,
high cholesterol levels,
cigarette smoking, diabetes,
obstructive sleep apnea,
lack of regular exercise,
obesity, heavy alcohol use,
recreational drug use,
and some types of heart disease.
Every stroke is a
little bit different because
any area of the brain
can be affected by a stroke.
Some strokes lead to only mild symptoms,
and others are more severe and have
a major impact on speech, strength,
swallowing, walking,
and vision. The patient with
a stroke will typically start
therapies very early after a stroke,
including physical therapy,
occupational therapy, and speech therapy.
A person can continue
to recover from a stroke for
many months after a stroke up
to a year or even longer.
This recovery is a very gradual process.
But don't give up.
Celebrate the gains from
week to week and month to month.
If you have any stroke risk factors,
partner with your medical
team to control them.
If stroke symptoms occur, seek emergency care.
Work with your medical team to arrange for
the appropriate evaluation to
clarify why the stroke happened,
and institute strategies to prevent
another stroke from occurring in the future.
Take your medications as advised.
Your medical team will also
institute therapies to help you with
any deficit that you might
have related to your stroke so that
you can live your life to the
fullest after a stroke occurs.
Thank you for your time and we wish you well.