Page 132 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2018

HEALTHY LIVING against the clock
THINK YOU’RE HAVING A STROKE?
THERE’S NO SAFE TIME TO WAIT
story by Lynn Lofton photo courtesy of Singing River Health System and American Heart Association
When it comes to strokes, time is of the essence for getting medical attention. Is there a specific window of time, making it a race against the clock?
“Seek immediate medical attention. It’s always better to ere on the side of caution,” says Gregory Patino, M.D., medical director for Singing River Hospital’s Emergency Department. “It varies from person to person because there are different types of strokes, but there is no real safe time to wait. Most medical facilities have a window of four hours that they can give medicine that will help, although more and more things are becoming available.”
The doctor outlines the symptoms that should raise a red flag. “A lot of things can be seen, but the most common are: weakness or any problem using one side of the body; numbness or difficulty moving your face; vision trouble; confusion; or inability to walk straight.
“In some cases, a person will have a severe headache, nausea or vomiting where there’s bleeding,” he said. “People usually realize that something is different.”
With any of these symptoms, Patino says do not second guess or wait
a couple of hours to see if it goes away. “Get help immediately. A stroke usually means a decrease in blood flow to the brain and waiting is not good. When the brain is injured, it’s very hard to recover if it does at all; when that tissue is damaged, that’s it. However, sometimes a person can use another part of the brain to compensate for the damage,” he said.
The biggest risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and smoking, which Patino notes are risk factors for a lot of illnesses. “Lifestyle is a huge factor to lower the risks for almost anything,” he says. “These are things you can control — increasing physical activity by something as simple as a daily walk and not smoking.”
Asked if any group of people is more susceptible to having a stroke, Patino replied, “Women are at an increased risk because they may have high blood pressure in pregnancy or because they take birth control medication or hormone replacement therapy with smoking. African- Americans and people with certain diseases also have an increased risk.”
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Gregory Patino, M.D., Medical Director for Singing River Hospital’s Emergency Department.
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION/ STROKE ASSOCIATION GUIDELINES:
WWW.HEART.ORG