Spare yourself the trauma with Brenna Benjamin.

Brenna Benjamin handles Trauma Program Injury Prevention and Outreach for Emergency Services at NorthBay Healthcare. Her blog focuses on preventive safety measures and true trauma encounters.

You can e-mail her at: BBenjamin@NorthBay.org

Brenna started writing for this blog September of 2017.

It’s American Stroke Month

May 18, 2015
 

The fourth leading cause of death in the United States is stroke.

Every 40 seconds, someone in America suffers a stroke. The challenge faced today is more than 93 percent of Americans do not believe that stroke is a major health concern; in fact, many know very little regarding this “brain attack.”

This month is dedicated to raising awareness regarding the leading cause of long-term disability.

Do you know your strokes? A hemorrhagic stroke is caused when a blood vessel in the brain bursts and causes bleeding. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel to the brain and should be treated within three hours to minimize long-term problems such as paralysis or weakness on one side of the body, memory of thinking problems, language problems or pain in the hands and feet.

Clot-preventing medications along with blood-thinners and clot-busting medications may be given to help prevent strokes. There are common misconceptions regarding strokes, but one lifestyle factor is the largest contributor for increasing an individual’s risk of having a stroke; smoking.

Let’s raise awareness of things we can do to reduce the risk of suffering from a stroke. Are you prepared to identify a stroke if you were to see one? Would you know how to recognize it? Remember, the symptoms of stoke occur suddenly and quickly. Here are some signs and symptoms of a stroke:

  • Weakness or numbness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion or difficulty speaking or understanding
  • Problems with vision, such as dimness or loss of vision in one or both eyes
  • Dizziness or problems with balance or coordination
  • Problems with movement or walking
  • Loss of consciousness or seizure
  • Severe headaches with no other cause, especially if sudden onset
  • Sudden nausea or vomiting not caused by viral illness
  • Brief loss in consciousness, such as fainting, confusion, seizures or coma

Take the NorthBay stroke quiz and see how you score, link is below!

http://library.northbay.org/Search/40,StrokeQuiz2

Tags: stroke, awareness, stroke signs, quiz

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