To quickly identify stroke, remember the “BE FAST” mantra
If you think of the brain as a field, the cerebral blood vessels are irrigation ditches, and the brain needs perfusion and nourishment from the blood in the cerebral blood vessels. When cerebral blood vessels become diseased, brain damage occurs. Stroke, commonly known as stroke, is a disease that damages brain tissue caused by lesions in the blood vessels of the brain. Sun Lili, deputy chief physician of the Department of Neurology at China-Japan Friendship Hospital, reminded that autumn and winter are the periods of high incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and high-risk groups especially need to be vigilant about strokes.
Stroke is divided into hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke. Sun Lili said that blood vessels in the brain may either rupture or become blocked. When the blood vessels in the brain rupture, it will cause a hemorrhagic stroke, the most common of which is cerebral hemorrhage; when the blood vessels of the brain are blocked, it will cause an ischemic stroke, the most common of which is cerebral infarction.
Stroke has the characteristics of “five highs”, namely high incidence, high mortality, high disability rate, high recurrence rate, and a relatively high economic burden on families and society. The main clinical symptoms of stroke include limb paralysis, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, choking on drinking water, and skewed corners of the mouth. Due to different locations of vascular injury, patients’ clinical manifestations are also diverse.
Most strokes are ischemic strokes, in which brain tissue dies due to ischemia. As long as 5 minutes after onset, irreversible damage to brain tissue will occur. With time delay, 1.9 million neurons will die for every minute of delay, so rapid treatment is required. Therefore, for stroke patients, time is life.
How to quickly identify stroke? Liu Lijuan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Neurology, Aviation General Hospital, said that you must remember the “BE FAST” mantra: “B” stands for Balance, which refers to the sudden loss of balance or coordination. Patients often feel unsteady when walking and lean to one side of the body. Slant; “E” stands for Eyes, which refers to a sudden difficulty in seeing, often manifesting as seeing one thing instead of two, or the range of what can be seen shrinking; “F” stands for Face, which refers to a sudden difficulty in seeing things on the face. Asymmetry, crooked corners of the mouth, commonly known as “facial paralysis”; “A” stands for Arms, which refers to sudden weakness or numbness in the arm, usually on one side of the body; “S” stands for Speech, which refers to sudden difficulty in speaking; “T” stands for Time, which means that if any of the above symptoms occur within a short period of time, it is likely that a stroke has occurred.
Liu Lijuan said that the treatment effect of stroke is extremely time-dependent, especially the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, the time window is very narrow. Therefore, once a suspected stroke patient is found, he or she should be immediately sent to a hospital capable of treating the patient, where professional doctors will quickly evaluate the condition and carry out standardized treatment.
How to treat stroke patients? Sun Lili said that the treatment of stroke can be divided into three major stages. The first stage is first aid treatment, mostly done in the emergency room. The second stage is the acute phase treatment in the neurological ward. The purpose of treatment is to provide the patient with acute phase treatment on the one hand, and to conduct a comprehensive examination on the other hand to find the cause of the patient’s stroke, and then provide the patient with more precise treatment based on the cause. , to prevent secondary stroke attacks. The third stage is rehabilitation treatment and long-term treatment to prevent recurrence, that is, treatment for patients in the acute phase after they are discharged from the hospital. The patient’s discharge does not mean that stroke treatment is over. Stroke treatment is a long-term process, and patients need long-term oral medications to prevent stroke recurrence. “Early medical treatment and timely receipt of stroke treatment are crucial to minimize the damage caused by stroke and improve the chance of recovery.” Sun Lili said.
Stroke prevention focuses on prevention. Data from the World Stroke Organization shows that 90% of strokes can be avoided if the public understands the various risk factors for stroke and takes active prevention measures. Yang Chenhui, deputy chief physician of the Department of Neurology, Aviation General Hospital, said that risk factors for stroke are divided into controllable risk factors and uncontrollable risk factors. Controllable risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking, lack of exercise, poor eating habits, obesity, etc. Uncontrollable risk factors include age, gender, ethnicity and race.
Yang Chenhui emphasized that understanding the high-risk factors of stroke and carrying out screening and management can reduce the risk of stroke. Regularly measuring blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipid levels, quitting smoking, maintaining an appropriate weight, regular heart health check-ups, and maintaining healthy eating habits and moderate exercise are all important measures to prevent stroke.
