National Stroke Awareness Month

As you may (or may not) be aware, since 1987, May has been the National Stroke Awareness month. The purpose of the annually recognized event is to not only raise public awareness about strokes, but also to help educate the public on how to manage stroke risk factors, and provide a better understanding of stroke symptoms. The National Stroke Association, the driving force behind this movement, also aims to help improve the quality of life during stroke recovery for the millions of stroke survivors in the US alone.

The National Stroke Association is focusing their efforts on educating not only the general public, but also stroke survivors and health care professionals as well, on a simple three-step guide.

Stop

You can stop a primary or secondary stroke cold simply through stroke management. It's true that some factors, such as your age, race, or gender are uncontrollable, however, many factors are controllable. Be sure to visit the NSA's website for a full list of factors you should be taking into consideration when it comes to lowering your risk for a stroke. The National Stroke Association provides a free stroke risk scorecard for you to download in order to determine your own personal stroke risk.

Act F.A.S.T.

If you think someone might be having a stroke it's important that you act fast in the recognition of stroke symptoms and respond quickly. If you think a person is suffering from a stroke, administer this test:

• Face - Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
• Arms - Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
• Speech - Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?
• Time - If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. Call 911 or get to the hospital fast. Brain cells are dying.

Spread Hope

And last, but certainly not least, help spread hope on the recovery from stroke.

Strokes are the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. It is imperative that we are all well informed on the prevention, cause, and rehabilitation on strokes. For more information on recognizing symptoms of stroke or to help spread awareness, please visit the National Stroke Association's website.