What to Do If You Have a Stroke

Every Minute Counts! Get to the Emergency Department Immediately

Time is critical in determining the best treatment options for a stroke. If you arrive at the Emergency Department within 3 hoursof the first stroke symptoms, it is often possible to give clot-dissolving medications to some patients in an attempt to lessen the stroke’s damage to the brain.

Strokes can occur in different areas of the brain, each causing unique symptoms. Therefore, symptoms may vary widely. They often come on suddenly but not always. Don’t ignore the symptoms, even if they go away. Call 911 or get to the Emergency Department immediately at St. Charles if you are having one or more of these common stroke symptoms:

• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech (aphasia)
• Slurred speech (dysarthria)
• Difficulty walking
• Dizziness, including vertigo
• Numbness, paralysis, or weakness, usually on one side of the body
• Seizure (relatively rare)
• Severe sudden headache with no known cause
• Sudden confusion
• Sudden decrease in the level of consciousness
• Sudden loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden vision problems (e.g., blurry vision, visual loss in one side of vision or in one eye)

A quick way to remember some of the main stroke symptoms is to memorize what FAST stands for:

F = Facial droop

A = Arm disuse from weakness

S = Slurred speech

T = Time is brain

Why Time Matters

Most strokes are caused by a blocked artery (ischemic stroke) that cuts off blood flow to the brain. When the brain does not get enough blood and oxygen, the affected area may start to die, which can then lead to a loss of function that was provided by that part of the brain. Therefore, the faster a stroke is diagnosed, options for treatment are carefully evaluated and medicines or treatments are provided, the sooner blood flow can return to the brain in an attempt to lessen damage.

Additional treatments may help if given between 3 to 6 hours after the onset of stroke symptoms, however, the more time that passes the less beneficial these treatments are. In rare cases, such as strokes involving the brain stem, the window of time for certain treatments and interventions may be even longer.