Respond Quickly To Stroke

Introduction

Getting fast treatment in stroke minimizes damage to brain cells. To provide quick treatment to patients, the general public surrounding the patient should understand the symptoms of a stroke. The acronym ‘FAST’ guides the people in case of emergency.

Stroke And Its Symptoms

Stroke is defined as the condition of reduced or blocked blood supply to the brain. It results in preventing the blood and other essential nutrients to reach brain tissues. The brain cells die in a deficiency of essential nutrients within a small period. It is a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment. Following are the symptoms of patients experiencing stroke:

Headache: If the patient experiences severe headaches along with nausea and vomiting, the patient may have a stroke.
Trouble walking: As there is a limited supply to the brain, the patient may not be able to maintain coordination in walking. Such patients have difficulty walking.
Visual impairment: The vision in one or both the eyes is reduced. The patient has blurred vision.
Numbness and paralysis: As the brain is the controller of the nerves and muscles of the body, damage to brain cells results in numbness and paralysis of various organs including arm, face, and legs.
Slurred speech: The patients with stroke have slurred speech. The people are unable to understand what the patient wants to convey.

Why Quick Response In Stroke Is Required?

A quick response to stroke helps in providing immediate treatment in such patients. The death of brain tissues starts degrading a few minutes after the stroke. In the majority of cases, this degradation is irreversible. Delay in the treatment of stroke patient
s may result in the following complications :
Losing the brain cells: Approximately 2 million brain cells damage in a minute in the patient with stroke. It indicates that delay in treatment may lead to significant damage to the brain.
Permanent damage: In many cases, the damage to the brain cells is irreversible. It results in a permanent loss of activity in the organ affected. It significantly reduces the quality of life of the patient.
Coma: In severe cases of brain damage, the patient may become unconscious and goes into a coma. 
Death: If the stroke affects the part of the brain controlling the vital functions such as respiration or cardiac control, death may occur.

How To Respond Quickly To Stroke?

To minimize brain damage and save the life of patients, people around the patient should respond quickly. For them to respond quickly, they must know the symptoms that are exclusive to stroke. The FAST acronym is provided to make the general public aware of the symptoms of stroke and help the patient to get quick treatment. FAST stands for:
Face: You should check the face of the person. Examine if one side of the face is drooping. Ask them if they are feeling numbness on the face. Request the person to smile and note the face during smiling.
Arm: During a stroke, the patient feels weakness in the arms. Ask the person to raise the arms. See if any of the arms is drifted downward due to weakness.
Speech: Damage in the brain also affects speech. Is the patient has slurred speech? Do you have any difficulty in understanding what the patient is saying? If yes, he might have a stroke.
Time: If any or all of the above symptoms are present in the patient, do not waste time and call emergency.

How Stroke Is Treated In Hospital Setting?

Once the patient reached the hospital, the symptoms of the patient are evaluated. It is done through physical examination. The damage in the brain is determined through imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The patient then undergoes adequate treatment.