Expert shares symptoms of stroke
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Nearly 800,000 people across the country experience a stroke each year.
A stroke is defined as a loss of blood flow to a part of the brain. It can be caused by a blood clot or broken blood vessels. Regardless of the circumstance, a stroke can seriously damage a person’s brain and lead to a lifetime of complications.
News 8 spoke with Michele Glidden, stroke program manager at Eskenazi Health, who says anyone can be at risk for a stroke. It’s a disease that crosses all racial, ethnic, gender, and age boundaries. Glidden also explains the specific–sometimes subtle–signs people need to look for.
“The generic symptoms of a stroke or what we teach people is B.E. F.A.S.T.,” Glidden said. “B is for balance. That means if all of a sudden you just feel like your world got tilted and you have trouble walking. E is for eyes. Any vision changes or loss of vision, even if it’s just a little corner of your vision goes away.”
Glidden says F stands for face. People may experience a face drop–-typically just on one side. A is for arms. A person experiences weakness–again in just one arm. S is for speech changes. By this, she means either the inability to speak or the wrong words are coming out, or a person might be just slurring their words. T stands for Time–time to call 911.
Glidden warns any one of these symptoms warrants a visit to the emergency room and immediate attention.