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Date Posted: 05:05:06 06/01/04 Tue
Author: J.R.Smith,c.f.t.,s.p.n.,s.s.c. -ISSA
Subject: Signs of stroke - what to do

Americans Don't Know Signs of Stroke, What to Do


Scripps Howard News Service

By By LEE BOWMAN

Thursday, May 6, 2004



Fewer than 1 in 5 American adults can recognize the five major signs of a stroke and know that calling 911 for medical assistance is the first thing to do.

Researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that only 17 percent of more than 61,000 adults surveyed in 17 states during 2001 correctly named all five signs of stroke and knew what to do first when they saw them.

"Public awareness of several individual stroke signs is high, but the ability to recognize all the major warning signs is low," wrote the team led by disease prevention specialist J. B. Craft.

An estimated 700,000 people in the United States will have a stroke this year, according to the American Heart Association, and of those, roughly 160,000 will die. Almost half of stroke deaths occur before patients are transported to hospitals. Fifteen to 30 percent of stroke survivors suffer permanent disability. Odds for recovery favor those who get medical treatment quickly.

The survey results, published in the CDC's weekly report on disease and injury, found the following level of awareness for each major stroke sign:

Sudden confusion, trouble speaking and understanding _ 87.9 percent;

Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body _ 94.1 percent;

Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, _ 68.1 percent;

Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination _ 85.9 percent;

Sudden, severe headache with no known cause _ 61.3 percent.

However, to account for the possibility that people would answer "yes" to the entire list of symptoms, the researchers threw in a false symptom _ sudden chest pain _ and almost 38 percent agreed it was a sign, too.

About four of five people said they would call 911 at some point if they thought someone was having a stroke or heart attack, but a smaller proportion said it was the first thing to do, driving the percentage of respondents getting everything right to 17 percent.

Taken together, the results suggest that stroke symptom awareness is high. But because of the way the questions were posed symptoms might not be as well known as the study suggests. Given that many people are reluctant to call 911 as a bystander, "more education is needed to increase public awareness of stroke signs and the need for emergency medical transport" for people suspected of suffering a stroke, the researchers said.


On the Net: www.cdc.gov

www.americanheart.org

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