Stroke is a puzzle, even to survivors
December 1, 1997
Stroke is a puzzle, even to survivors
Hospital personnel have to better communicate the warning signs, symptoms, and risk factors of stroke. Patients have to be made aware that stroke is a medical emergency and that someone has to call 911 when it happens. The days of wait and see are long past.
Factors associated with brain attack, or stroke, are still obscure, even to stroke survivors, a recent study shows.1 Four out of 10 patients surveyed in hospitals’ emergency departments lacked basic knowledge about the attack they’d just experienced. They were unable to name a single sign or symptom, and half didn’t realize that the brain is the organ affected. People at highest risk the elderly knew the least.
Recognizing signs and symptoms becomes increasingly important as researchers find new ways to treat stroke with thrombolytics because, to be most effective, treatment must be given within three hours of symptom onset.
Reference
1. Kothari R, Sauerbeck L, Jauch E. Patients’ awareness of stroke signs, symptoms, and risk factors. Stroke 1997; 28:1,871-1,875.
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