Beware of Signs and Symptoms of Stroke

Stroke, according to WHO, is the presence of focal or global neurological deficits due to impaired brain function that occurs suddenly, lasts > 24 hours or death, caused solely by cerebral vascular disorders, including eye and spinal cord stroke. Broadly speaking, stroke can be divided into obstruction stroke and hemorrhage stroke. Each year in Indonesia there are an estimated 550,000 new cases of stroke, and is the third leading cause of death in Indonesia after cardiovascular and cancer, and is a major cause of disability.

Stroke is caused by many risk factors that are divided into modifiable (hypertension, diabetes, heart rhythm disorders and heart valve disease, blood disorders, excess cholesterol, contraceptive pills, smoking, alcohol, obesity) and non-modifiable (age, race, gender, previous stroke) risk factors.

Stroke events are very important to know the signs and symptoms by patients, family, friends, and the surrounding community because stroke events are emergency events that must be immediately taken to the hospital for immediate treatment to prevent death and disability in patients. Signs and symptoms of stroke that can be recognized by the general public are abbreviated as "F.A.S.T warning sign".

F.A.S.T warning sign consists of:

- F = Face Drooping - Is one side of the face asymmetrical or numb? Ask the patient to smile, is the smile asymmetrical?

- A = Arm Weakness - Does one side of the arm experience weakness or numbness? Ask the patient to raise both arms, does one side of the arm appear to be falling downwards?

- S = Speech Difficulty - Does the patient appear to have difficulty speaking/speech slurred?

- T = Time to call 911 - If 1 of the above is yes, then the patient should be taken to the nearest hospital immediately.

Other signs and symptoms of stroke that should be considered besides those mentioned above are:

- Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body.

- Sudden loss of consciousness, difficulty speaking or difficulty understanding speech and commands.

- Sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes.

- Double vision, momentary darkness, numbness around the mouth, ringing in the ears, difficulty swallowing, choking, nasal voice that occurs suddenly.

- Difficulty walking, dizziness, sudden loss of balance.

- Sudden onset of headache.

- Sudden spraying of vomit.

- Seizures.

If there are symptoms and signs as mentioned above, family, friends, coworkers, and the surrounding community should immediately bring the patient to the hospital without delay, and the patient is immediately treated / referred to a neurologist so that the mortality rate and disability rate can be reduced and reduced.