Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Here it is in the
last few hours of May, and I only just realized, thanks to the current issue of
StrokeSmart magazine, that May is Stroke Awareness Month. StrokeSmart is from
the National Stroke Association, and as a stroke survivor I find it encouraging
and informative.
The letter from
the magazine’s editor had some statistics that surprised me. To illustrate the
need for heightened awareness of stroke, he compared statistics about another
disease that is much higher than stroke on the radar of most people in the
United States. Think pink for breast cancer awareness. His numbers, all for the
U.S.:
- New diagnoses of
invasive breast cancer number around 230,000 annually, and there are about
40,000 deaths.
- In comparison,
nearly 800,000 strokes occur in the U.S. every year (about one every 40
seconds), and stroke kills nearly 130,000 people every year.
- Stroke is the
fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease, cancers, and
respiratory diseases.
The numbers for both
conditions represent lives of the stricken individuals and their families that are changed forever.
The editor made a
plea for readers to help increase awareness of stroke, from educating others
about the earliest signs of stroke to joining or organizing fundraising events.
An elder and a
stroke survivor, I also found these statistics, reported here, compelling: Nearly three-quarters of all strokes occur in people over the age of 65.
At
any age, recognizing that a stroke may be occurring and getting prompt help is
critical. The FAST way to check for signs of stroke is an easy way to remember the warning signs and how to check for them. Using the FAST memory aid is also a reminder of the need for speed.
In the case of stroke
the reality is that “Time is brain.”
Face—Ask the person
to smile. Does one side of the person’s face droop?
Arms—Ask the person
to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
Speech—Ask the person
to repeat a simple phrase. Is the person’s speech slurred or strange?
Time—If you observe
any of these signs, call 911 immediately.
Photo: Wikipedia