Despite the importance of expediting the
treatment of stroke patients, its symptoms are not always easy to recognize.
Some simple tests may help quickly detect an infection. Every minute affects
the life of the patient.
Every year millions of people suffer from stroke, and the trend of
injuries is constantly increasing, as statistics reveal. Since 2010, the number
of stroke injuries in Germany, for example, has increased by 10 percent, as
revealed by the German Association of stroke patients.
In 83% of cases, patients suffered from a
cerebral infarction. Dr. Thomas Kloss, a neurologist and regional
representative for stroke assistance, in an interview with the German newspaper
"Bild".
The blockage and narrowing of blood vessels
comes from vascular calcifications or blood clots, and the result: The brain
cannot supply blood properly. 17% of strokes are caused by cerebral hemorrhage,
as the explosion of a blood vessel in the brain or its outer layer causes the
destruction of brain cells, making it not possible to supply parts of the brain
with sufficient blood. The result is neurological deficits such as disturbances
of speech and movement, says Dr. Kloss.
But in the case of a stroke, every second
of time becomes important to limit and reduce its effects.
The chancees a stroke surviving a stroke
raise without permanent disabilities. According to the German Stroke
Association, 270,000 people suffer a stroke in Germany every year, and suffer
speech or movement problems as a result of it.
In order to know whether or not a stroke
has occurred, the so-called FAST test can be used, and this word is composed of
the first letters of four words in English:
Face
Arms has two arms
Speech pronunciation
Time
These four words are only the parts that
the FAST test depends on, and the average person who has nothing to do with
medicine can identify the initial symptoms of a stroke through this rapid test:
Face: Ask the person to smile. If he can
only smile on one side, this indicates paraplegia.
Arms: Ask the person to extend their arms
forward and turn their palms up. In the case of paralysis, he cannot raise or
lower both arms.
Pronunciation: Ask the person to repeat a
sentence behind you. If he is unable to do so, or his voice is weak, or if he
neglects to pronounce some words or syllables, then the matter indicates a
verbal disorder.
Time: If a person is unable to perform one
of the three tests mentioned above, ambulance must be called immediately and a
description of the symptoms and when they appeared.
However, it remains important here not to
provide food or drink to a person suspected of having a stroke, as his
inability to swallow could lead to suffocation.
