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Know the signs

Strokes kill nearly 163,000 people annually — about one of every 15 deaths, and nearly 700,000 Americans each year suffer a new or recurrent stroke.

That means, on average, a stroke occurs every 45 seconds.

It's the third highest cause of death behind heart disease and cancer.

About every three minutes, someone dies of a stroke. Of every five deaths, two occur in men and three in women.

Warning signs:

— Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.

— Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding.

— Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.

— Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or coordination.

— Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

Call 911 immediately when one or more symptom appears. Time lost is brain lost.

Types of stroke:

— Ischemic stroke occurs as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain.

The underlying condition for this type of obstruction is the development of fatty deposits lining the vessel walls.

Ischemic stroke accounts for about 83 percent of all cases.

— Hemorrhagic stroke accounts for about 17 percent of stroke cases and is a result of a weakened vessel that ruptures and bleeds into the surrounding brain.

Blood accumulates and compresses the surrounding brain tissue.

— TIAs or transient ischemic attacks, are minor or warning strokes.

In a TIA, conditions indicate an ischemic stroke is present and typical stroke warning signs develop. However, the obstruction or blood clot occurs for a short time and tend to resolve itself through normal mechanisms.

Even though the symptoms disappear after a short time, TIAs are strong indicators of a possible major stroke. Steps should be taken immediately to prevent a stroke.

Effects of stroke:

The effects of a stroke depend on several factors including the location of the obstruction and how much brain tissue is affected. However, because one side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body, a stroke affecting one side will result in neurological complications on the side of the body it affects.

— Right brain stroke may result in paralysis on the left side of the body, vision problems, quick, inquisitive behavioral style, and memory loss.

— Left brain stroke may cause paralysis on the right side of the body, speech/language problems, slow, cautions behavior style, and memory loss.

Risk factors include high blood pressure, tobacco use, diabetes, TIAs, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity, and excessive alcohol use.:

Other factors include heart disease, age, and hereditary.

Hidden risk factors for women are migraines, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, autoimmune diseases, and clotting disorders.

Annual check-ups and seeing primary physicians when symptoms occur are always advised.

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