May is Stroke Awareness Month
Watseka, Illinois – Though there are treatments available that can reverse disability from stroke, less than five percent of patients in Illinois and throughout the country receive them. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability nationwide.
To help increase the number of stroke patients who receive treatment for stroke, the Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Great Lakes Regional Stroke Network to raise public awareness of stroke signs and symptoms and to help improve health care for stroke patients. May is national Stroke Awareness Month. During May and throughout the year, the Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department will work to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke and encourage people to call 9-1-1 immediately if they experience or witness anyone experiencing the following symptoms:
• Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm, or leg – especially on one side of the body;
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding;
• Sudden troubles seeing in one or both eyes;
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; or
• Sudden severe, headache with no known cause.
“Again and again we see in studies that patients do not recognize symptoms as stroke and fail to get to the hospital in time. This is a crisis of underutilization that causes unnecessary disability and costs millions extra in health care costs nationwide,” said George Mensah, Distinguished Scientist and Consultant in the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Division at the CDC.
During Stroke Awareness Month, the Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department encourages people at risk for stroke and their family members, friends and caregivers to learn the signs of stroke. In many cases a person experiencing stroke does not realize it is occurring, but bystanders can recognize the symptoms and act quickly. “If you see someone exhibiting any of the signs or symptoms of a stroke, you should call 9-1-1- immediately,” said Cathy McEwen, Acting Director of Schools and Community Services at the health department. “Getting stroke victims to the hospital immediately can greatly increase their chance of having little or no disability, McEwen said.
Additionally, states are working with local communities to improve hospital and emergency medical services and increase quality of care for stroke patients. This process requires working with neurologists, radiologists, emergency physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians and others (such as primary care physicians and family practice physicians) to create and implement systems and protocols for evaluating and treating stroke patients. “By improving the systems that affect stroke care, we can dramatically improve the outcomes for many patients,” said Mrs. McEwen. “The key to stroke care is creating a chain of recovery that is focused on identifying and treating stroke patients at the earliest stage possible.”
For more information about the signs and symptoms of stroke, please contact the Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department.
