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Signs To Look Out For: Stroke

Signs To Look Out For: Stroke

By Lexi | 4th October 2022

In the UK, there are an impressive 1.3 million stroke survivors. There is an unfortunate statistic that a stroke occurs every 5 minutes in the UK too… it is always good to educate yourself on the signs and symptoms of a stroke to help protect you and loved ones.

Act F.A.S.T

If you believe someone is having a stroke, it is always helpful to do the F.A.S.T test and check the following:

  • Face – Ask the person to perform a simple act with their face muscles, such as smiling or raising their lips. Is their face drooping or does it look normal?
  • Arms – See if the person is able to lift up both of their arms. Does one arm seems weaker and seem to slowly drift down?
  • Speed – Simply ask the person to say a simple phrase, a sentence around 5 or 6 words long. Are they able to say it as normal, or is their speech slurred or different?
  • Time – If any of these signs, if not all, occur then you must immediately ring 999.

Common Signs In Men & Women

Regardless of what gender you are, the signs of a stroke will be the same. So here are some symptoms to look out for.

  • A sudden and new numbness/ weakness in the face, arm, leg or on one side of the body.
  • Confusion. There will be a new lease of confusion with difficulty understanding things you can usually do normally. It may be a task for to understand simple phrases or to speak.
  • A new continuous headache, which is causing you severe pain and you are unsure as to why it is happening.
  • Some sort of blindness in one or both eyes. It will become difficult to be able to see in front or around you.
  • Dizziness. It could also become a task to walk in a straight line or keep yourself upright.

Mini Stroke

A TIA – transient ischemic attack – is also known as a mini stroke. You may have had a TIA if you had these symptoms but they went away within a few minutes. This will always be important to get this checked with a GP or doctor. This should never be left unmentioned as it could be the build up to a big stroke, and mentioning this could help to save your life in the future.