In a stroke, timing is everything. Every minute that passes without medical attention, millions of neurons stop working and many of them die irreversibly. However, there is a key opportunity to reduce the damage and, in many cases, reverse much of the consequences: the so-called golden window, which lasts approximately 4 to 4 and a half hours from the onset of symptoms.
During this period, doctors have highly effective treatments. But for them to work, the first reaction at home is decisive.
What is a stroke and why does it happen?
A stroke happens when the brain stops getting blood and oxygen properly. This can happen for two main reasons:
Ischemic effusion (the most common): A clot blocks a cerebral artery. The blood does not arrive, the neurons suffocate and begin to die.
Hemorrhagic effusion: An artery ruptures and blood leaks into the brain, compressing and damaging it.
In the hospital, the medical team’s first goal is to quickly distinguish which of the two types is occurring, as the treatments are very different.
Learn this keyword: RUN
You don’t need to be a doctor to save a life. You just have to remember RUN, a simple rule to recognize the warning symptoms:
C – Face: ask the person to smile. If one side of the face droops or the smile is asymmetrical, it is a warning sign.
O – Eyes: sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes, double vision or eye deviation.
R – Strange to speak: difficulty speaking, slurred words or nonsensical phrases.
R – Rapid weakness: inability to lift or keep one or both arms or legs elevated.
If just one of these symptoms appears, act like a stroke until proven otherwise.
Don’t wait for it to “pass”
There is a very dangerous misconception: when the symptoms last a few minutes and disappear, many people believe that it was just dizziness. In reality, it could have been a transient ischemic attack, a clear warning that a major stroke can occur at any time.
