Immediately After A Stroke, Your Next Steps Are Crucial

By Shereen Lehman (Reuters Health) - Time is critical when someone has a stroke, but care can be delayed when victims, bystanders or even health workers don't recognize the emergency, a new study in the UK finds. Better public awareness of the signs of stroke and the importance of seeking immediate emergency care are needed, the authors say. Stroke signs include the sudden onset of various symptoms such as confusion, difficulty speaking, droopy face or slurred speech, weakness in a limb, numbness, being off-balance, visual loss or a really severe headache. "Getting to hospital quickly is particularly important for patients who suffer certain types of stroke, because they can benefit from clot busting drugs, but only if these are given within hospital within 4.5 hours of symptoms starting," Ruth Mellor, who led the study, told Reuters Health by email. "We knew from earlier research that people who have a stroke can take a long time to get to hospital and wanted to understand why that was," said Mellor, who is a researcher with the National Health Service Lanarkshire. Her team interviewed 30 stroke patients to learn about their decisions and experiences, with an emphasis on the routes that eventually got them to the hospital for stroke treatment. All the patients lived in cities. Most were white men, under age 65. Most strokes occurred at ho...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news