Stroke Survival

Patient Safety Tip for Surviving Stroke

Remember that stroke is a “brain attack” that needs to be treated as aggressively and quickly as a heart attack. It’s a medical emergency. Sometimes we lay people can be our own worst enemies when we get new symptoms. We assume it will “go away.” We look for benign explanations for what is wrong. Don’t do that! Call 911 instead and get to the nearest hospital that offers stroke treatment.

What if the symptoms do “go away”? That does NOT mean you’re in the clear. It means you might have just had something called a TIA – a transient ischemic attack – in the brain.

I tell my clients you’ve been given a gift – a warning that something might be wrong with your brain and you need to do something about it promptly.

Here is a list of stroke warning signs and advice from the American Stroke Association.