Stroke symptoms

If you or a loved one experience the following, get immediate medical attention.

* Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body

* Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding

* Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes

* Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

* Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

TYPES OF STROKE

Ischemic strokes, which account for more than 80 percent of all strokes, occur as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. The underlying condition for this type of obstruction is the development of fatty deposits lining the vessel walls, commonly called hardening of the arteries.

Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures.

Transient ischemic attacks, or TIA, are minor or warning strokes. In a TIA, hints of an ischemic stroke are present and the typical stroke warning signs develop. However, the blood clot occurs for a short time and tends to resolve through normal mechanisms.

HOW TO CUT RISKS FOR STROKE

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: Eat a balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise to reduce blood pressure. Drugs are also available.

CIGARETTE SMOKING: Quit. Medical help is available.

HEART DISEASE: Manage it. Your doctor can treat heart disease and may prescribe medication to help prevent the formation of clots. If you are older than 50, daily aspirin therapy may help.

DIABETES: Control it. Treatment can delay complications that increase the risk of stroke.

TRANSIENT ISCHEMIC ATTACKS, OR TIAS: Seek help. TIAs should never be ignored and can be treated with drugs or surgery.

SOURCE: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE; AMERICAN STROKE ASSOCIATION

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

N.C. Partners to Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke: www.startwithyourheart.com

American Stroke Association: www.strokeassociation.org

Centers for Disease Control stroke page: www.cdc.gov/stroke

National Stroke Association: www.stroke.com