(rhythmical piano music)
- Every 40 seconds someone
in the United States has a stroke.
It's a leading cause of death among Americans
claiming about 142,000 lives each year.
Strokes are more common in people over 65,
but rates are rising among younger adults.
In fact, hospitalizations for stroke
among adults 25 to 44 has risen 43% in recent years.
Hi, I'm Nancy Brown, chief executive officer
of the American Heart Association.
It's American Stroke Month, and we're here
to talk about awareness and prevention.
Joining me today is Doctor Cortney Baker,
a stroke survivor, award-winning entrepreneur,
author, podcast host, and CEO of KidsCare Home Health care.
As an association volunteer, she's also part of our family.
Welcome, Doctor Baker, we're so delighted
to have you with us today.
- Thanks for having me.
- Tell me about the day you had your stroke.
What happened on that day?
- So we'd have to back up a little bit to the week before.
And I'd had gum grafting surgery,
and it's a minor procedure.
That Tuesday, it was September 18th of 2012,
and I was 37 years old.
And I just wasn't feeling right.
And the doctor the day before had told me
to get off my steroids.
So I started feeling a little bit better,
so I didn't think anything about it.
Well that Tuesday I went to go wash my hair
and I couldn't remember how.
There was a knock at the door,
and my friend had come to check on me
because I had told her I couldn't remember how
to wash my hair.
And she had encouraged me to go to the doctor,
but I didn't go.
And when she came back into the room,
'cause she'd come to check on me,
when she came back into the room with my husband,
I was having a seizure.
And thank God in Texas, right around the corner
from our house, is the Texas Stroke Institute,
and that's the hospital I was taken to by ambulance.
I went in, and they diagnosed me right away
with having a stroke in two places.
It was a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.
- Yeah, 37 is so young to have a stroke,
yet it's not uncommon for younger people to have strokes.
And that's an important message
that we, the American Heart Association
and the American Stroke Association,
are focused on every day,
and especially during Stroke Month.
What went through your mind when they told you,
you were having a stroke, or that you had had a stroke?
- The first thing I said to my husband was, I'm not 80.
This couldn't be.
I couldn't even formulate at that point
really much of a sentence or a thought.
And the day after that, two days later,
I had a seven-hour brain surgery.
And it wasn't until then that I was really able
to put sentences together.
- Well yours is such a story of hope, I think,
for others who have suffered a stroke
and for their family members and people who love them
seeing someone who has recovered so beautifully,
- Thank you. - you know,
really is a message of hope.
What would you encourage people to know
about the warning signs and about taking action?
And then I'd love to come back
and talk a little more about recovery.
- Sure, so the first thing is if your body
is telling you something is wrong, listen to it.
I think, especially based on my research,
women have the tendency, especially women,
to put their health last.
We put the oxygen mask on last.
And it's one of those
that if your body is telling you something is not right,
you have to listen to it.
And I didn't, which if I had, I woulda gone
to the hospital much earlier.
- Right, what would you hope that other people would do
beyond getting to treatment quickly,
others who have had a stroke?
- So get to rehab.
I definitely would encourage that first and foremost
because, as soon as possible, because the longer you wait,
the more time goes by that it's harder
to get those behaviors back.
Those things that you once knew
aren't necessarily gonna come back right away
unless you have rehab, it's crucial.
- As our guest today shared,
stroke can strike anyone at any age.
It's vital to know the warning signs and to think FAST:
face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty,
time to call 911.
Visit StrokeAssociation.org to learn more, thank you.