Dizziness or problems with balance. Difficulty speaking. Numbness in the face, arm or leg.
These are just a few of the common symptoms associated with having a stroke.
According to Karla Baning, a nurse practitioner and stroke program coordinator at Chandler Regional Medical Center, stroke is experienced by around 795,000 people every year, affecting those of all ages, including children.
In recognition of National Stroke Awareness Month, Chandler Regional Medical Center is offering a free online assessment that will help people learn if they are at risk of having a stroke. The assessment will be available until at least the end of the year.
Baning said participants are asked questions about things like age, race, smoking habits, weight, cholesterol levels and family history of certain health issues.
“It’s really quite easy to do,” she said. “At the end, the person can print it out to review it or take it to their physician. You can also get a follow-up with a registered nurse at the hospital since there is a lot of information about what the results mean.”
The goal of the assessment, Baning said, is to stop primary or secondary strokes from occurring through risk-factor management.
“One of the primary myths is that stroke is not preventable, but it certainly is,” she said. “Eighty percent of strokes are preventable. When you consider that there are 795,000 strokes a year, and 600,000 of them are first-time strokes, 80 percent is a huge number.”
Baning said it is vitally important that people are aware of not only the symptoms of a stroke but also their risk factors for having one, because from the moment a stroke happens, time is of the essence.
This, she said, relates to another common myth associated with stroke: that there is no treatment available.
“This used to be true, but now interventions can be performed,” she said.
“There is one FDA-approved medication, and it has to be administered within three hours. If someone you know is having symptoms of a stroke, write down to the minute when (the symptoms) started happening.”
Another misconception related to stroke is that they only happen to older people.
“While it is true that the risk is greater after 65, anyone can have a stroke, including infants and young people,” Baning said, adding that people also mistakenly believe that strokes happen inside the heart.
“Strokes can be thought of as a brain attack,” she said. “When you are having a heart attack, the blood supply to the heart is affected. When you are having a stroke, the blood supply to the brain is affected. Every minute that there is a loss of blood supply to the brain, a person will lose two million nerve cells and 14 billion nerve synapses.”
Baning hopes that everyone takes the seven or so minutes necessary to take the free online assessment. She understands that some people may be nervous to see their results and learn the truth about their stroke risk factors, but she stressed that it’s better to know now and do something about it than end up at the hospital having symptoms.
“They think nothing can be done, but you are more likely to survive a stroke than die from it,” she said. “There is hope.”
To take the online assessment, visit: http://www.strokeawaretest.com/
