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Show Help Your Heart Bjj fT American Heart '"C V J jAs$ociation wlL Recognizing a Stroke Emergency In stroke as in heart attack, the speed with which friends or family members respond can make a big difference in the eventual outcome. If they recognize the condition immediately and get medical help, they may save their loved ones from death and disability. Stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. A stroke may take hours or even days to develop, so early detection and treatment might save precious brain cells. Unfortunately, many people do not know these seven early warning signs of stroke: (1 ) sudden, temporary weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg; (2) temporary difficulty or loss of speech or trouble understanding under-standing speech; (3) sudden, temporary dimness or loss of vision; (4) an episode of double vision; (5) unexplained headaches, or a change in the, pattern of headaches; (6) temporary dizziness or unsteadiness; and (7) recent change in personality or mental ability. Stroke kills almost 200,000 Americans each year, making it the third leading cause of death in the U.S. However, more than two million Americans who have had strokes are alive today. Research may someday lead to drugs that are effective in patients who do not reach medical attention immediately after a stroke. An American Heart Association Established Investigator is searching for a way to minimize the severity of brain damage from stroke even when treatment is delayed. de-layed. In his research with gerbils, David E. Levy, M.D., at Cornell University Medical College in New York City is studying how brain cells are damaged in the hours and days following a stroke. Dr. Levy is testing various drugs in gerbils, hoping to find a treatment that saves brain cells from destruction. Barbiturates drugs used as sedatives and hypnotics may be effective in reducing the damage from stroke. When Dr. Levy administers a barbiturate to a gerbil one hour after an experimentally produced stroke, the brain damage is less severe. One possible explanation for this effect: barbiturates may suppress the brain cells' energy demands. Although some physicians have already started giving barbiturates to their stroke patients, Dr. Levy believes this medical practice is premature pre-mature until more research information is available. He is collecting data on patients at New York Hospital in an effort to identify those who will continue to deteriorate following a stroke and might benefit from barbiturates. But until these drugs have been proven effective, your doctor's most important weapon is still early detection by you, the informed layperson, lay-person, who knows the seven early warning signs of stroke. |