Most of us are pretty good at dismissing health warnings until they become impossible to ignore. We’ll book the car in for a strange rattling noise faster than we’ll act on blurred vision, dizziness or sudden numbness. Unfortunately, stroke is not especially interested in our talent for brushing things off.
Stroke remains one of Australia’s biggest health problems, with roughly 110 Australians having a stroke each day. More than 80 per cent of strokes are considered preventable, which is both encouraging and slightly annoying, because it means many of the biggest risk factors are the boringly familiar ones: high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, irregular heartbeat, poor diet, too much alcohol and not enough exercise.
A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain is cut off, either by a clot or a bleed. Brain cells start dying within minutes. This is why stroke is a genuine emergency, not something to wait and see how you feel after a cup of tea.
You may have already heard of the FAST test, and this is one health acronym worth remembering. F is for face drooping. A is for arm weakness. S is for speech difficulty. T is for time to call Triple Zero immediately. Not after a lie-down. Not after a quick Google. Not after checking whether your spouse also thinks your face looks a bit funny. Call 000. Fast action can reduce brain damage and improve recovery.
There are other signs too: sudden trouble seeing, dizziness, confusion, severe headache, numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body. And then there is the TIA, often called a mini stroke. The name sounds small and harmless but it isn’t. A TIA has the same warning signs as a stroke, usually clears quickly, and can be a sign that a full stroke is just around the corner. Even if symptoms disappear it still needs urgent medical attention.
One of the biggest myths about stroke is that it only happens to very old people. Risk does increase with age, but stroke can happen to adults of any age and sometimes to younger people too.
It is also a major cause of disability which means surviving one is not necessarily the end of the story. Recovery can involve rehabilitation, lifestyle changes, medication and a lot of patience.
The good news is that prevention is not mysterious. Get your blood pressure checked regularly. In fact, high blood pressure is the single biggest modifiable risk factor for stroke. Know your cholesterol and blood sugar. If you have atrial fibrillation, take it seriously. Quit smoking. Ease up on the booze. Move your body. Eat responsibly more often than not. None of this is glamorous, but neither is learning to do rehab exercises because you ignored your blood pressure for ten years.
Stroke is one of those health issues that sounds like it belongs to someone else until it doesn’t. Know the signs, act fast and do the routine maintenance on your own body the same way you would on anything else you want to keep running properly. Because when it comes to stroke, lost time really is lost brain.
