“Whispering Strokes” – hint at
TROUBLE ahead
Written by Tessa Jupp RN
We are all getting older so strokes are just as much a
possibility for polio survivors as is a heart attack.
When I was nursing in hospitals in the 1960s, we
couldn’t do much for a stroke, even if it happened in hospital with staff
all around.
Today a lot more can be done if it is recognised and treated within a few hours (or less).
For years the alarm has been sounded about the danger
of a TIA (transient ischemic attack) which is a mini
stroke.
Symptoms mimic a major stroke, but a TIA usually lasts
just a few minutes to an hour or so and doesn't typically leave long-term
physical impairment.
The danger is that a TIA indicates increased risk for
a major stroke or for additional TIAs in the weeks
and months following.
But according to some researchers, there are strokes
with symptoms even more subtle than a TIA making their name, "whispering
strokes," particularly appropriate.
Dr George Howard, chair of the department of biostatistics,
Now he has a study that gives evidence to back him
up: In a group of nearly 22,000 men and
women over age 45, 18% said they had experienced subtle symptoms of stroke, and
only 58% had reported the incidents to their doctor. Dr. Howard discovered that these seemingly
insignificant strokes left these men and women with slightly compromised
quality of life in either physical measures (such as lowered energy) or mental
functioning (such as decreased ability to express oneself verbally).
Additionally, having a stroke even as minor as a
whispering one puts people at risk of a major stroke.
Dr. Howard urges people to never ignore what he calls
the "suddens” however
brief they may be.
Recognising a Stroke If you can identify the symptoms of a
stroke you may be able to save someone’s life. Ask the individual to SMILE
Ask him/her to TALK
or SPEAK A SIMPLE
SENTENCE Ask him/her to RAISE
BOTH ARMS (obviously take into account
if there is arm weakness
from polio!) If he/she has
trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 000 immediately and describe the
symptoms over the phone.
Call your doctor immediately or go to hospital if
you have any of these symptoms: 1.
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on
one side of the body. 2.
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or difficult understanding. 3.
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. 4. Sudden severe headache with no known
cause. 5. Sudden
trouble walking, dizziness or loss of balance or coordination without a
reasonable
explanation for
this, such as having gotten up quickly.
Prevention is always preferable to treatment. 1. Don't smoke, 2. Do get treatment for high blood pressure 3. Do get treatment for diabetes 4. Make sure you exercise at least
moderately. 5. And should you have an unexplained event,
see a doctor and insist on
appropriate tests right
away to determine if there is a problem.