What Are The Signs Of A Stroke?
The warning signs of stroke are:
- Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, and leg on one side of the body
- Sudden loss of vision or dimmed vision, particularly in one eye
- Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech
- Sudden, severe headaches with no apparent cause
- Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness, or sudden falls, especially if accompanied by any of the previous symptoms
Most severe headaches are not a sign of stroke. Migraine, which can cause quite severe and sometimes alarming headaches, is very common and affects about one in five people.
|
How-To Information:
If you experience migraines, how can you tell if your headache is just another migraine - or a sign of stroke?
A headache caused by a stroke:
-
Will come on very suddenly, without the aura that sometimes precedes migraines
-
Has been described by stroke survivors as "the worst headache of my life"
-
Will build up to a peak within a minute or two
-
May be accompanied by vomiting and a stiff neck
|
What Do Different Parts Of The Brain Do?
The brain is a very complicated organ. Although it is a relatively small part of the body, it uses one-quarter of the blood supply.
When a person is right handed, the left side of the brain is dominant. About 90 percent of left-handed people have the right side of the brain dominant.
|
Nice To Know:
|
|
In general, the right side of the brain processes:
- Music
- Art
- Mathematics
- Memory
- Hearing
- Sight
- Movement
|
In general, the left side of the brain processes:
- Writing
- Reading
- Speaking
- Understanding
- Memory
- Hearing
- Sight
- Movement
|
|
Stroke
Page 2 of 12
