Watch out for mini strokes
An article in this morning’s Wall Street Journal reinforces my earlier post on mini-strokes, also knows as transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). See The Sign You're About to Have a Stroke --And Why Many Doctors Miss It. The health care system isn’t well organized to recognize and deal quickly with events that don’t appear life threatening. That’s fine for a lot of illnesses, but not for strokes of any kind, where speed is absolutely essential. That’s why it’s important for citizens to be informed and act aggressively even when the medical system doesn’t.
Mini-stroke symptoms can be fleeting, but are often a warning sign of a more serious stroke to come. Experts recommend heading to the emergency room if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially on one side of body
- Sudden confusion or trouble speaking
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause