Senior Health Connection newsletter Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital Center 4f* I $ May 2011 May is Stroke awareness month. Know stroke A stroke is when blood flow to part of your brain suddenly stops. It happens when a clot gets stuck in one of the blood vessels feeding your brain or when the blood vessel bursts. Either way, without oxygen carried in the blood, your brain begins to die. Don't let it happen to you or someone you love, know the signs. Know the signs Knowing the signs, symptoms, and risk factors can decrease the devastating effects of a stroke. For every minute a stroke goes untreated, millions of brain cells die. Remember to act; FAST 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? Time If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. Call 911 Know TIAs A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is sometimes called a mini-stroke. It is a short lived stroke that gets better and resolves itself. It is a short lived episode (less than 24 hours) of temporary impairment of brain function that is caused by loss of blood supply. Although most TIAs often last only a few minutes, all TIAs should be taken seriously and need to be evaluated with the same urgency as a stroke. TIAs can occur once, multiple times, or precede a permanent stroke. A TIA should be considered an emergency because there is no guarantee that the situation will resolve and function will return. Act FAST 73