STROKE : A ‘BRAIN ATTACK’
By, Orlando Regional
Know the warning signs of the other coronary killer
Some 700,000 Americans suffer strokes each year, and nearly 163,000 of them die. Surprisingly, women account for more than 60 percent of stroke fatalities. These gloomy statistics would improve if more people knew the warning signs.
Strokes come in two main varieties. An ischemic stroke occurs when an artery to the brain is blocked or ruptures. In a hemorrhagic stroke, a blood vessel inside the brain bursts.
Either way, brain cells suffer severe injury and begin dying within minutes, sometimes causing permanent damage. However, there’s a six-hour “therapeutic window” during which permanent brain damage may be avoided with proper diagnosis and treatment.
Who’s at risk? No one is completely safe from stroke. Risk factors such as aging or a family history of stroke are uncontrollable, but there are other risks you can control. In fact, the four major risk factors for stroke—high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes—often can be managed through diet and exercise, or medication if needed. Keeping a healthy weight and not smoking are two other ways you canreduce your risk.
Orlando Regional Stroke Center can help E
arly treatment of stroke, particularly within three hours of its onset, can significantly improve your chances of recovery.
Orlando Regional Stroke Center, located at both Orlando Regional Medical Center and Orlando Regional Sand Lake Hospital, is equipped to deliver the highest level of care to stroke patients. The Orlando Regional Stroke Center is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Beyond the Florida Stroke Act requirements, we also provide:
•Acute Stroke & Rapid Response Teams: specially trained medical teams that provide critical care management to inpatient stroke patients
•resources from Orlando Regional Medical Center’s Level I Trauma Center
•neurology coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week
•neurosurgery coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week
•cerebral angiography coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week
•24-hour diagnostic imaging, including a 64-slice cardiac CT scanner and 1.5 Tesla “High-Field” Open MRI Know the
warning signs of the othercoronary killer Warning signs of a stroke Minutes matter! Call 9-1-1 immediately if you or someone you’re with experiences any of the following:
• suddennumbness or weakness in the face, an arm or a leg, especially on one side of the body
• suddenconfusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• suddentrouble seeing in one or both eyes
• suddendizziness, trouble walking or loss of balance or coordination
• suddensevere headache