World Stroke Day: Raising Awareness

Every year on the 29th of October, the World Stroke Day is commemorated.  

On this day, numerous stroke awareness campaigns are carried out across the globe. These campaigns aim to educate people about the importance of the early detection of stroke and inform them about stroke risk factors, the best ways to prevent a stroke, and stroke treatment options. ¹

Hence, in this article, we have mentioned in brief all that you need to know about how to prevent a stroke so that you can actively participate in the stroke awareness campaign every year. 

What is a Stroke? 

A stroke is to the brain what a heart attack is to the heart.  

Likewise, similar to a heart attack, when a person is undergoing a stroke, there are problems with blood reaching your brain. This can happen when there is an insufficient supply of blood to the brain due to blockages in the blood vessels that carry blood to the brain. Sometimes, a stroke can also occur when there is bleeding in the brain. 

In either of these cases, there are chances of permanent brain damage that can even result in death. That is why stroke is considered a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. ³

The Importance of World Stroke Day: Why Participate in World Stroke Day? 

According to the data collected by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2022, between the years 1990 and 2019, a 70% hike was observed in the incidents of stroke globally. The reports also suggest that there were as many as 43% of deaths and an overall 102% increase in the prevalence of stroke. 

Hence, because of these rising numbers, it has become a necessity and a public responsibility to take the right steps towards spreading information regarding the importance of the early detection of stroke. 

Moreover, the stroke awareness campaigns that get carried out on World Stroke Day revolve around making people alert about the warning signs of stroke and the life-threatening nature of the major stroke risk factors.  

All of these steps will help to decrease the global burden of stroke with the intention of encouraging stroke recovery and rehabilitation among the masses to minimise F.A.S.T. stroke symptoms as much as possible. 

Recognising the Signs of Stroke: The F.A.S.T. Method 

Before going into the details of what are the risk factors for stroke, it is crucial to identify the warning signs of stroke so that you can offer immediate help to anyone who might be suffering in front of your eyes.  

The best way to recognise the early signs of stroke is to use the F.A.S.T. method. Now, if you are wondering what is the F.A.S.T method and how it works in the timely identification of stroke symptoms and signs, here is a brief description—

F.A.S.T. Stroke Symptoms 

F.A.S.T. stroke symptoms cover a range of easy-to-identify signs of stroke. F.A.S.T. expands to—

• F = Face
• A = Arm
• S = Speech
• T = Time 

How Does the F.A.S.T. Stroke Symptom Detection Method Work? 

Once you completely understand the F.A.S.T. method for stroke, you can help anyone to prevent a stroke easily. 

1. (F) Face

• One of the earliest warning signs of stroke can be easily identified by analysing the smile of the person who you think is undergoing a stroke.  
• For this, you must ask them to smile first. 
• Following this, observe if they have any kind of drooping on one or both sides of their face.  
• If the drooping is there, then it indicates paralysis or muscle weakness, which is one of the most obvious F.A.S.T. stroke symptoms. 

2. (A) Arm

• Another easily detectable sign of stroke is muscle weakness in the arms. This usually happens only on one side.
• To identify this F.A.S.T. stroke symptom, you have to ask the patient to raise both of their arms.  
• If any one of those arms is not able to stay firm and straight up in the air in comparison to the other one and for the same duration as the other one, then this is a clear-cut warning sign of stroke. 

3. (S) Speech 

Problems with speech are the most easily noticeable F.A.S.T. stroke symptom. So, if a person is finding it difficult to choose the right kind of words or their speech is slurred, this could be a sign of a stroke. 

4. (T) Time 

The last element of identifying the stroke symptoms in F.A.S.T. methods is not really one of the signs of stroke, but it is equally important. Why? Because a stroke is a medical emergency, you have to act on time to save the life of the person who is having one or more of the F.A.S.T. stroke symptoms.   

Apart from this, you must also remember the exact time at which the F.A.S.T. stroke symptoms started appearing in the patient. This is important because it can help the medical provider to offer the best stroke treatment options and services to the patient according to their immediate needs. 

Hence, taking the Stroke Statistics under consideration makes it appropriate to state that for anyone who wants to dedicatedly be an active part of World Stroke Day, learning and proliferating the F.A.S.T. stroke symptom detection method must be a priority. 

Key Risk Factors for Stroke 

Stroke risk factors refer to specific conditions under which a person's risk of developing stroke increases over time. In order to prevent a stroke, it is essential to have knowledge about the primary stroke risk factors. These can be categorised as follows—

Lifestyle-Related Stroke Risk Factors

The lifestyle-related risk factors for stroke incorporate a range of lifestyle habits that eventually lead to the development of the signs of stroke. Examples include—

• Staying physically inactive
• Alcohol overuse
• Taking illegal drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine
• Having obesity or being overweight

So, if you are stuck in any of the above situations, then improving your lifestyle and bringing a change in your daily habits is one of the best ways to prevent a stroke. This simple step can help to minimise your signs of stroke and eliminate your risk of stroke in the long term. 

Stroke Risk Factors Associated with Certain Medical Conditions

The medical conditions that contribute to the stroke risk factors include—

• Diabetes
• Hypertension (consistently high blood pressure levels)
• High levels of cholesterol in your body 
• Obstructive sleep apnoea (O.P.A.) 
• Smoking cigarettes
• Exposure to second-hand smoke
• The presence of a cardiovascular disease (examples include heart failure, atrial fibrillation or irregular heart rhythm, and the presence of defects or infection in the heart) 

Apart from these, if any of your relatives have undergone a stroke (it means having a family history of stroke), a heart attack, or an ischemic attack, then also your stroke risk factors are going to be high. 

Person-Specific Stroke Risk Factors

Person-specific stroke risk factors include those risk factors of stroke that are particular to a person's personal circumstances. These include factors such as—

Age: Stroke risk factors increase with increasing age. This means that a person who is above 55 years of age is more likely to develop the signs of stroke in comparison to younger people. 

Gender: While the stroke risk factors are higher for men, several reports suggest that women are more likely to undergo death because of the warning signs of stroke. 

Race or Ethnicity:  People who are born in a certain race or have a particular ethnic background develop the signs of stroke more easily than others. Examples of such ethnicities include—

• African
• American
• Hispanic

Hormones:  The use of birth control pills or contraceptive oral medicines increases the risk of stroke. Apart from this, a person undergoing hormone therapy that revolves around estrogen is also at a higher risk of stroke. ⁴

Stroke Prevention Tips: How You Can Reduce Your Risk 

To prevent a stroke, understanding your stroke risk factors is important. Once you know your specific stroke risk factors, you can use the following stroke prevention tips to minimise your signs of stroke—

• Modify your diet to minimise cholesterol content and the levels of saturated fats in the food you eat. 
• Quit smoking 
• Limit alcohol consumption
• Try to shed excess weight if you're overweight
• Eat a well-balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits, vegetables, and healthy nutrients
• Exercise daily for at least 30 minutes.
• If you have conditions like hypertension, diabetes, or obstructive sleep apnoea (O.S.A.), taking your medicines on time and efficiently managing them is also a great way to prevent a stroke.

Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation 

The stroke recovery and rehabilitation methods refer to the steps that are taken after a person has already undergone and survived a stroke. These include physical, cognitive, and emotional activities like—

• Motor-skill exercises 
• Mobility training 
• Constraint-induced and range-of-motion therapies
• Functional electrical stimulation
• Robotic technology
• Wireless technology
• Virtual reality
• Occupational therapy 
• Speech therapy
• Communication therapy
• Psychological evaluation and associated treatment
• Medicinal therapy

The time taken for rehabilitation after a stroke depends from person to person. Likewise, while some people can recover within months, others can take years to experience a complete recovery. ⁵

Stroke Treatment Options 

Depending on the type of stroke that you have suffered, any of the following stroke treatment options can be used by a medical professional to bring you out from the dangerous after-effects of a stroke—

• Emergency IV (Intravenous) medicine
• T.P.A.: Injecting recombinant tissue plasminogen activator or T.P.A. like Alteplase (Activase) or Tenecteplase (TNKase)
• Endovascular Procedures: These include the administration of medicines that are delivered directly to your brain and the removal of the blood clot using a stent retriever. 
• Carotid endarterectomy
• Angioplasty and stents
• Emergency Measures for Haemorrhagic Stroke: These include surgical clipping, coiling (or endovascular embolisation), surgically removing arteriovenous malformation (AVM), and stereotactic radiosurgery. 

How to Get Involved in World Stroke Day? 

To control the rise of stroke, as a responsible citizen, it becomes your duty to actively participate in the stroke awareness campaign held on World Stroke Day. You can do this by—

• Designing posters about stroke prevention tips and bringing the attention of the people in your community to those posters. 
• Dedicate a day to World Stroke Day by spending your time volunteering in a stroke awareness campaign organised in your locality.  
• Participate in physical activities that encourage the spread of information relating to the importance of early detection of stroke. 

Conclusion 

So, if you also want to participate in World Stroke Day, it is good to have a thorough understanding of the F.A.S.T. stroke symptoms, stroke risk factors, and stroke recovery and rehabilitation methods. 

At the same time, it is equally important to generate stroke awareness by becoming an active member of the stroke awareness campaigns and spreading the stroke prevention tips to as many people as possible.