It was a typical Monday afternoon when my sister-in-law called me and in a hurried voice said, “Dad fell.” After a few minutes of frantic discussion and determining that my wise sister-in-law had already called 911, I switched my mindset from being a family member to a healthcare professional. My mind raced to think about the acronym that we had so often learned in school: FAST — face, arms, speech and time to call 911. Facial drooping — check; arm weakness — check; slurred speech — check; and time to call 911 — check. He had all the signs of a stroke. I’ve discussed stroke prevention before, but now, more than ever, seeing first-hand what it can do to a beloved family member, I believe strongly that we don’t only need to discuss the prevention but also the side effects of a stroke.
When I walked into the hospital room a few weeks ago, I could hardly believe my eyes — my formerly healthy father-in-law was now bedridden, on a feeding tube and unable to use the left side of his body. His speech was slurred, and his memory is now foggy. He had suffered not just any stroke, but a massive one. He had many of the risk factors including diabetes and high blood pressure.
previous column: February is a great time to think about your heart health
But the subtle signs, we realized in hindsight, we had possibly missed. Silent stroke symptoms include a lack of balance, slight memory loss, and changes in mood or personality. A stroke is the loss of blood flow to part of the brain and results when a blood clot blocks an artery in the brain, thus the importance of cholesterol management. High cholesterol can cause thickening of the arteries and can result in clot formation. Diabetes can further contribute to blood clots by causing fat deposits in the arteries. Therefore, knowing your numbers, such as your LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), A1C (average blood glucose over three months), and blood pressure is vitally important. These numbers, if all above normal or worse — severely elevated, can significantly increase the risk of not only stroke, but also heart attacks.
So what exactly can we do to prevent the risk of strokes? There are many ways as outlined below:
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Healthy diet: It is without question that eating healthier allows for a healthier lifestyle. Importantly, limit salt intake, eat more fiber, and increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables.
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Don’t smoke: I cannot stress this risk factor enough! Someone who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day is six times more likely to have a stroke compared to a nonsmoker
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Limit alcohol: Men should have no more than two drinks a day, women should have no more than one (I promise I did not make that rule — check out the CDC for more information on this fact!)
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Check your cholesterol: Your HDL is your good cholesterol and LDL is your bad cholesterol. Your LDL should ideally be less than 100
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Control blood pressure: High blood pressure is directly correlated with the increased risk of stroke and heart attack. A healthy, balanced diet, exercise and blood pressure medicine can all help in reducing blood pressure.
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Diabetes control: Diet, exercise, diabetes medications can all help in diabetes management.
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Increase your physical activity: Any form of exercise is good exercise — add it to your routine! Make it a priority, just 30 minutes a day has shown to have excellent benefits.
A stroke can be debilitating, devastating, and can have many long-term and lasting side effects. It can completely change an individual’s quality of life. But most importantly, it can be prevented. With the help of many medical professionals including speech therapy, and physical therapy and with the right combination of medications, my father-in-law is regaining his strength, significantly improving cognitively and is on the road to recovery. I would like to specially thank the healthcare professionals at IU Bloomington Hospital, Methodist Hospital and Bloomington Regional Rehabilitation Hospital for their dedication to the profession of medicine, their service and, most importantly, their kindness.
Krutika Simon is a pharmacist based in Bloomington with a focus on health and wellness and specialty medications. You can contact her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Know the signs to help save the life of someone suffering a stroke