I will keep today’s post brief, but wanted to relay mistakes that young stroke patients frequently make in hopes that they will not perpetuate. Yesterday I saw a young stroke patient who decided to rest when symptoms began, so it is worth reiterating errors made and why these actions should be avoided.
- Taking a nap/lying down when stroke symptoms begin. Remember, an ischemic stroke patient is only eligible for IV t-PA (the “clot busing” medicine) for 3-4.5 hours after a stroke begins, and with each passing minute that the brain does not receive blood flow, approximately two million cells will perish. When a stroke patient awakens from a nap, it is often too late to intervene. Call 911.
- Driving himself/herself to the hospital. This is a terrible mistake for many reasons. A stroke patient is more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle collision if trying to drive while the brain is not receiving adequate blood flow/oxygen. Vision and cognition may be impaired. There could be delays in care with traffic on the road. Instead of being brought directly back to be evaluated by the emergency medicine physician, a patient may incorrectly be asked to wait in the triage area if not arriving by ambulance, which creates further delays. Do not drive to the hospital if you may be having a stroke.
- Taking aspirin at home. Remember that 20% of all stroke are hemorrhagic, or “bleeding strokes.” Aspirin may worsen bleeding, and no one will know whether a stroke is ischemic (due to a blood clot blocking blood flow to the brain) or hemorrhagic until a head CT scan or MRI can be performed to visualize the brain.
I had the privilege of providing a basic overview about stroke on May 1, 2014 on a local news show in Charlotte, NC to start Stroke Awareness Month this year. If you are interested in viewing this, click here. Remember the FAST mnemonic for identifying stroke early so we can work to prevent disability from stroke.
- Face – Is a facial droop present on one side?
- Arm – If both arms are extended, and one drifts down due to weakness, this could be a stroke until proven otherwise
- Speech – Is there slurred speech? Is there difficulty finding the words with which to communicate?
- Time – Time is critical, as stated in the above points. Call 911.
2 comments
dean reinke says:
Dec 3, 2014
With tPA only having an efficacy of 12%, we need something that stops all 5 causes of the neuronal cascade of death. Until we get off the overreliance on tPA will we finally solve all the other problems in the stroke world. That focus on tPA is sucking all the oxygen out of finding other solutions.
Toni Amick says:
Dec 3, 2014
I wholeheartedly agree with everything in this topic, being a young stroke patient myself. Had I not been in my neurosurgeon’s office I most likely would have went home to “sleep it off” and potentially never woken up since the stroke was in my brainstem