Stroke

Most people think strokes only happen to the elderly but that’s not the case. Anyone can suffer from a stroke, no matter your age, gender or race. With a Canadian suffering from a stroke every 9 minutes, there is a good chance you may witness someone showing signs of a stroke or it could possibly even be you. So we better know the drill.

The most common signs of a stroke are sudden numbness or weakness of the leg, face or arms,  it’s usually on one side of the body, but not always. Having troubles seeing out of one or both eyes, dizziness, loss of balance, hard time communicating or understanding and a sudden headache. If you or anyone else is even just having one or two of these symptoms, get help. It’s better to be over cautious than not get help for a stroke. Every minute counts. Strokes are the third leading cause of death in Canada and the majority of survivors are left with some kind of disability. The faster a victim is treated, their rate of survival and likelihood of not having any lasting effects goes up. So act quickly. Call 911 or your site emergency crew.  Take note of the time as this could help doctors. Stay with the victim and keep them calm.

There are a few things to try and prevent a stroke such as, exercising, not smoking and drinking only in moderation. If you have high blood pressure, lower it and properly treat existing ailments such as diabetes. Sadly, there is a good chance that we will all be in a situation where we or someone else we are with is showing signs of a stroke. Make sure to be act quickly.