www.strokeassociation.org

Today highlights the importance and awareness of stroke. By being more knowledge in what stroke is, we can better understand how it affects people afflicted with stroke. According to http://powertoendstroke.org/, “stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die.” What can you to spread the knowledge:

• Share, tweet, and tell your friends about #WorldStrokeDay
• Tell Congress that stroke survivors on Medicare deserve better. If Congress does not act before next spring, stroke patients on Medicare will face limits on the outpatient therapy needed to regain vital skills, like walking and talking. The typical Medicare beneficiary has a $1,900 therapy cap. On average, that amounts to a single evaluation and just 19 outpatient therapy sessions. However, stroke survivors often need 3-5 therapy sessions a week, which means they’d reach the caps in less than two months. We must do better for these survivors! Tell Congress to remove this harmful cap on stroke patients once-and-for-all! (http://www.strokeassociation.org/)
• Symptoms include sudden numbness, severe headaches, and troubles with walking, and seeing. The faster you call for help, the quicker it can be helped!
  • If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T.¹ and do the following simple test:F—Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
    A—Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
    S—Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
    T—Time: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Here are some quick facts about stroke (www.cdc.gov):

• Stroke kills almost 130,000 Americans each year—that’s 1 out of every 20 deaths.
• Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability.
• On average, one American dies from stroke every 4 minutes.
• In 2009, 34% of people hospitalized for stroke were younger than 65 years.
• The country’s highest death rates from stroke are in the southeastern United States.² Below is a map showing the prevalence of stroke across the United States.

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