May is National Stroke Awareness month and recently the Masons of Pilot Lodge #493 A.F.&A.M. received lifesaving information about the medical condition at the group’s May meeting. Lodge Master Casey Shaw facilitated the presentation and welcomed presenters retired RN Nancy Carter and Kendra Lawson, RN, of Hugh Chatham Health in Elkin.
“The month of May is a time for stroke education and increased awareness of this life threatening — life changing event,” Carter said. “According to the statistics from the American Stroke Association, in the United States someone has a stroke every 40 seconds and someone dies from a stroke every four minutes.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a stroke occurs when something blocks blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. In either case, parts of the brain become damaged or die.
“One of the first steps to improving your health is to ‘know your numbers’ which are you BMI (body mass index), cholesterol, glucose levels, and blood pressure,” Carter advised the Masons in attendance. “You cannot manage what you do not measure and knowing your risk for stroke starts with knowing those numbers.”
Carter told the Masons that stroke is largely preventable, treatable, and beatable so knowing their numbers — a point repeated for emphasis — and keeping them within healthy ranges is important.
Ali Shams, MD, medical director of Central Carolina Hospital, agrees with that notion. He said, “According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 80% of strokes are preventable. While some of your stroke risk is genetic, much of it comes down to factors that are within your control.”
“The good news is that with knowledge and preparation, your chances of a deadly stroke become much lower, “ he added.
Carter encouraged the group to, “Be a bold advocate for yourself by talking to your doctor about managing any risk factors.”
“People forget that most strokes are preventable. Now is the time to turn our emphasis toward identifying risk factors that allow for health and medical interventions to prevent stroke from happening in the first place,” said Charles Tegeler, M.D., a neurologist at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
The North Carolina State Health Plan said healthier living patterns can lower risk for stroke. They said a healthy diet, physical activity, and weight maintenance can make a difference as can reduction or elimination of alcohol and smoking in any of its many forms.
Lawson added her expertise to the discussion as an expert stroke educator. She is the coordinator for Life Support Programs and Hugh Chatham Health in Elkin and has been a nurse for 30 years also providing outreach for the hospital.
She told the Masons, “Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States.” The American Stroke Association also said it is also the third leading cause of death for women in the country. About 55,000 more women than men have a stroke each year and it kills over 90,000 of them each year.
“A stroke happens when normal blood flow in the brain is interrupted. When parts of the brain don’t get the oxygen-rich blood they need, those cells die,” Lawson explained. “This causes irreparable cell death.”
Time is of the essence and the long standing acronym for stroke care has been FAST according to Lawson. She emphasized recognizing the “signs of a stroke using the acronym F.A.S.T. — Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 911.”
She suggested that anyone looking for symptoms could ask their loved one to smile and look to see if the smile remains crooked or uneven. With weakness in the arms, ask them to close their eyes and raise their arms and observe for difficulty or a “drift downward.” Slurred speech could be ascertained by asking someone to repeat a simple sentence like, “The sky is blue.”
Lawson emphasized “calling 911 immediately when symptoms occur. This can make the difference between a strong recovery and disability, or even death. Why? Time saved is brain saved.”
“Calling 911 starts the process for timely and appropriate treatment. Be safe — not sorry,” she said.
She stressed calling EMS as they are specialty trained to treat stroke symptoms and calls ahead to the hospital where a “code stroke” is initiated. This ensures that the emergency department is awaiting the patient’s arrival with specialists, tests, and medications needed for a rapid assessment and treatment. Depending on the type of stroke, medication is given that can reverse symptoms she said.
“Knowing these signs is vital for timely treatment — patients who get emergency care immediately upon first symptoms tend to recover much more successfully,” said Shams.
“Having this knowledge is a powerful thing, it can save a life,” Carter said of the presentation.
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