Stroke Awareness

It was any other Saturday morning. We had celebrated my son's 8th grade graduation and awards ceremony on February 18, 2000. When I woke up Saturday morning, my head hurt so bad. I thought I was having a muscle spasm at the base of the back of my head as had happened 10 + years ago. Everytime I tried to get up, my head hurt worse, so I spent the week-end in bed and took a lot of Tylenol. Monday morning, I went to my doctor, and he said he wanted me to see my optometrist since the only thing that seemed to be wrong then was a slight blur in my right eye. I went, and as I was walking in the front door coming home, the phone was ringing. Dr. Bowman called to tell me I had suffered a mild stroke that had only affected my right field of vision. I broke down, sobbing; my husband said it couldn't be life-threatening, so quit carrying on so. Well, I adjusted to the limited right-side vision, continued to do as I always had done, i.e. driving, cooking, going to all the grandkids' sports activities. Things were ok with me. Then,in July, 2002, my grandson got to go to Southaven, MS, right outside of Memphis, TN, for the Little League World Series. My husband, my son, his girlfriend, and baby of 5 months, and me, all loaded up and I drove all the way to Memphis, about a 7 hour drive from us. No problems. When we got to the motel and checked in, I decided that I'd make coffee, but we had no coffee cups. Well, my son's girlfriend, the baby and I went to a Dollar Store about 3 blocks away that I had seen when we drove in. Again, I was driving, did my shopping, drove back to the motel, knocked on the room door, and BOOM!....I couldn't move. I couldn't speak; all I could do was hang on for dear life to the door facing. My husband and son helped me to the bed, and I sit down. Things were spinning; I had no control of anything. I managed to say, "Get me an aspirin, a real one." They all were saying, "What's wrong?" I didn't know, God I didn't know, but deep down I think I suspected what was wrong because I knew the signs and symptoms I had. I managed to say call an ambulance. The police came too, with the ambulance. The officer thought I'd had to much to drink, not knowing I never drink! I was transported to Southaven Baptist Hospital, where they gave me shot after shot of phenagram for vomiting, did a cat scan, and blood tests, then sent me back to the motel room with a prescription for ulcer medicine and more phenagram. The doctor told my husband that the injectionss I received would wear off in 24 hours, and then I would be okay. The motel manager told my husband and son they had to take me through the back door because I was just plain drunk! I got in the motel bed, and 3 days, yes 3 whole days and nights, I slept! I never got up, never went to the restroom, never ate, as a matter of fact, I'd try to sit up, and fall right back over. The fourth day, I awoke, but could hardly sit up without support. I couldn't talk plain, I definitely couldn't walk alone. My husband asked me, "Do you think you can stay awake long enough, and remember how to direct me out of Memphis?" I told him I thought I could, so we packed up and he drove like hell to get me back home. When we got here, he immediately took me to our ciity hospital, and they immediately transported me to a Tulsa hospital and also there, is the Kaiser Rehabilation Center. I'd suffered an acute, severe stroke, that affected my right side. Two days in hospital, then over to the rehabilation center for two weeks. The rehab was torturing. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. I was also in a very depressed state, crying eveytime I even thought. I was used to typing 126 words per minute; I was used to going anywhere anytime I wanted to. My memory wasn't affected, thank God. And, thank God and all my friends around the world for their prayers, I survived. The affects are still visible even now in 2004, but, I can walk a little without assistance, I type now with my left-hand only 100 words per minute, I can talk fairly plain unless I'm extremely tired. The only thing is my right eye is constantly worsening, and they won't let me drive. So, I've added this information to help others who never know when a stroke can hit home!

Help us to help you!



Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

*Ask the individual to smile.

*Ask him or her to raise both arms.

*Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.


If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.



  • Stroke is the #1 cause of serious, long-term adult disability in the United States.
  • Stroke is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.
  • It kills nearly 160,000 people each year.
  • Every 45 seconds someone in the U.S. will experience a stroke.
  • This means that every year more than 750,000 Americans have a new or recurrent stroke.
  • Over the course of a lifetime, four out of every five American families will be touched by stroke.
  • 4 million Americans are living with the effects of stroke.
  • About 1/3 have mild impairments, another 1/3 are moderately impaired and the remaining 1/3 are severely impaired.
  • Nearly 30% of those who suffer a stroke are under the age of 65.
  • Each year, stroke affects 120,000 women and 105,000 men under 45 years of age.
  • For people over 55, the incidence of stroke more than doubles in each successive decade.
  • The incidence of stroke is higher for males than for females, especially in the under 65 age group.
  • Women account for 43% of the strokes that occur each year but  they account for 62% of stroke deaths.
  • Each year, stroke kills more than twice as many American women as breast cancer.
  • Among women over age 45, stroke is more common than heart attack.
  • Women over age 30 who smoke and take high-estrogen oral contraceptives have a stroke risk 22 times higher than average.
  • Stroke incidence among African Americans is almost double that of white Americans.
  • African-Americans not only have a higher incidence of strokes than Caucasians and Hispanics, but they also suffer more extensive physical impairments that last longer than those of other racial groups in the U.S.
  • Not only are African-Americans twice as likely as Caucasians to have a stroke, they are also twice as likely to die from a stroke.
  • People with diabetes, especially those who have high blood pressure, are at increased risk for stroke.
  • Women with diabetes are at greater risk than men.
  • Hypertension is a major contributing factor for up to 70% of strokes.
  • Among adults age 50 and over, a recent survey showed that 97% could not identify a single stroke symptom.
  • Only 1% could name stroke as a leading cause of death.
  • Approximately one third of younger individuals with stroke and 3/4 of older individuals with stroke have persisting impairments and disabilities.
  • It has been estimated that 33% of stroke survivors need help caring for themselves.
  • 20% need help walking.
  • 70% cannot return to their previous jobs.
  • 51% are unable to return to any type of work after stroke.
  • Approximately 1/3 of all stroke survivors will have another stroke within five years.
  • About 14% will have another within one year.
  • Stroke costs the U.S. $30 billion dollars annually in medical expenses and lost productivity.

    • Stroke Awareness
    STROKE SIGNS



  • Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding   
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes   
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination   
  • Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

    References:

    1. Hoyert DL, Kochanek KD, Murphy SL. Deaths: Final Data for 1997. National Vital Statistics Reports; Vol. 47 no. 19. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 1999.
    2. Williams GR, Jiang JG, Matchar DB, Samsa GP. Incidence and Occurrence of Total (First-Ever and Recurrent) Stroke. Stroke. 1999;30:2523-2528.
    3. American Heart Association. 1999 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update. Dallas, Texas: American Heart Association. 1998.
    4. Malmagren R, Bamford J, Warlow C, et al. Projecting the number of patients with first-ever strokes and patients newly handicapped by stroke in England and Wales. BMJ. 1989;298:656-660.
    5. Kannel WB, Wolf PA, Verter J, et al. Epidemiologic assessment of the role of blood pressure in stroke risk: the Framingham Study. JAMA. 1970;214:301-310.
    6. Black-Schaffer RM, Osber JS. Return to work after stroke: development of a predictive model. Arch Phys Med Rehab. 1990;71:285-290.
    7. National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Stroke: Hope Through Research. www.ninds.nih.gov, May 1999.
    8. Broderick J, Brott T, Kothari R, et al. The Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Study: Preliminary first-ever and total incidence rates of strokes among blacks. Stroke. 1998;29:415-421.
    9. Matchar DB, Duncan PW. Cost of Stroke. Stroke Clin Updates. 1994;5:9-12.
    10. Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance, Stroke, 1980-1989. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control; 1994:69.
    11. Collins JG. National Center for Heath Statistics, 1988: prevalence of selected chronic conditions, United States, 1983-1985. In. Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics. Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service; 1989:155.
    12. Petitti DB, Winger J. Use of oral contraceptives and cigarette smoking and risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Lancet. 1978;2(8083):234-5.
    13. Horner, R. Racial Variations on Ischemic Stroke-Related Physical and Functional Impairments. Stroke. 1991;22:1497-1501.
    14. Gorelick PB, Sacco RL, Smith DB, et al. Prevention of first stroke: a review of guidelines and a multidisciplinary consensus statement from the National Stroke Association. JAMA. 1999;281:1112-1120.
    15. Dunbabin DW, Sandercock PAG. Preventing stroke by the modification of risk factors. Stroke. 1990;21(suppl IV): 36-39.
    16. Gallup/National Stroke Association Survey of Stroke Awareness in America. 1996.
    17. National Stroke Association, Stroke/Brain Attack Briefing. 1999.

    Statistics copied from Stroke awareness Organization of southern CALifornia (SOCAL).



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