Eps. 9 | BE FAST: Don't Miss the Signs of a Stroke

BE FAST: Don’t Miss the Signs of a Stroke ⚠️

In this episode, we’re joined by Kelsie Maher, ER Trauma and Stroke Coordinator at CHI St. Alexius Dickinson, to break down the signs and symptoms of a stroke, why fast action is so important, and how you can respond in an emergency.

This is information everyone should know.

https://wewnetwork.org
https://www.stroke.org/en/about-stroke

The EmpowerND Podcast is hosted by Women Empowering Women, a membership based non-profit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and educating women. Through community, events, and resources, Women Empowering Women helps women grow, build confidence, and explore their potential, supporting them every step of the way as they become the best version of themselves. To learn more about Women Empowering Women’s projects or how to become a member, visit wewnetwork.org.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to Empower Indie Podcast. This podcast creates space for honest conversations about health, well-being, and community resources to help people in southwestern North Dakota live healthy, full lives. The Empower Indie Podcast is produced by Women Empowering Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and educating women to help them become the best versions of themselves. To become a member or learn more, visit wewnetwork.org. A stroke can happen suddenly, and recognizing the signs quickly can save a life. Today we're talking about stroke awareness, including what causes a stroke, the warning signs people should never ignore, and what to do if you think someone is having one. Let's get started. So can you introduce yourself and a little bit about what you do?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah. Um, my name is Kelsey Maher, and I am the trauma and the stroke coordinator for the hospital. So I do um a lot of education on strokes with our staff at the hospital, but then I also do like reporting to the state about like how well or how not well we do with our strokes, and we actually do very well out here.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Okay, awesome. So to start, can you explain in simple terms what a stroke actually is and what happens in the brain when when you're having a stroke? Yeah. Okay, so sometimes we hear the term mini stroke. Uh, what is a TIA and and why should people take it seriously?

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Um, well, you should take them very seriously because um it having a TIA, most people have a str a full blown stroke within three months of having a TIA. Um and it's just like a transient ischemic attack. Um it is a brief uh decrease in blood flow to the brain. Um and your symptoms resolve typically within a few minutes. Sometimes it can last up to an hour or so, but they resolve quickly. Um, and so that just is a very good precursor. And actually, um half of the people that will have a stroke um within the three months of having a TAA, it happens within the first week. So very important to seek medical care right away.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

And to just watch for the signs and know the signs and for sure. And I think sometimes what I've noticed as a provider that sometimes they'll have those and and they know what it is, and or a family member has had one before, and so then they kind of ignore it, or family doesn't take it serious, and then they don't get the you know, re-education on what to look for for the big one.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Yeah, definitely. And we kind of see that too, or they think that, oh, I've had this before, it's just gonna go away, and then it doesn't go away. Right, and now they've wasted valuable time for sure.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Yeah. So there's different types of strokes. Um, can you just kind of explain them and and explain how they differ?

SPEAKER_00 3:16

So there's two different kinds there's ischemic and there's hemorrhagic. The ischemic is like a blood clot in the vessels leading up to your brain, or there's um like a bleed. So either way, your blood your brain is not getting the blood and the oxygen that it needs.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

So talking about those signs that that family members especially can can look for, um, many organizations use acronym BFAST now. So can you just kind of explain to us what BFAST stands for?

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Yeah, so B is for balance. So any sudden changes in your balance, feeling off, dizziness, things like that. E is for eyes. Um, if you have sudden changes in your vision, particularly in one eye versus the other. Um, some people get blurred vision out of one eye, they can't see out of one eye, or something just isn't right. And then F is for your face. You'll um people notice like a facial droop, um one side versus the other. A is arms, so arm weakness and leg weak weakness, they might not be able to use that arm or leg, or it just seems off to them. S is speech. Um, some people, their speech isn't right, um, they don't sound right, slurred speech, garbled speech, or sometimes they might not even be able to talk at all. And then time, um, time is very important. Um, it's the last known well time, but also time to get help.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

So, are there symptoms people sometimes overlook or dismiss that could actually be signs of a stroke?

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Um, yes, headaches, especially for people with migraines, um, they kind of just think, well, this is normal, I have migraines. Um, oftentimes, though, their headaches will be a little bit different. They'll be like the worst headache of their life. Um, and then dizziness is a big one too. That people just I've had vertigo in the past. Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah. I had I actually had a patient that was 40 years old. Um, he had been hunting and he just started to get vertigo. He'd never had it before, but he had it for a few days. Went to the chiropractor, um, you know, a few different times, and then walked into the clinic. And I was actually a new grad at the time, and he's like, Yeah, I don't know. I've I've had some vertigo and I'm just a little dizzy. And the only difference that he had was he would stand and he'd lean to the left, just like just a little bit off. And he would kind of like he'd be standing and he'd just like tilt a little bit, and it was very, very, like, very subtle.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

And I was a new grad, so I'm like, I know this is probably overkill. I'm really sorry, but I'm just I really need you to go to the ER, please. Yeah, but you please just go because I really think that maybe you should go. And I thought for sure I was overreacting, and I was like, they're gonna laugh at me, like it's gonna be dumb because he's not gonna be having a stroke, and you went down there because I was like, Well, it could be in your brain stem. And then he gets down there and he was having a stroke, and I was like, Oh, thank goodness, yeah, like, but it had been days.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Yeah, I would say the dizziness, and like you said, they lean kind of one way or another, but it's so subtle that like if you don't really if you aren't really watching or have someone that can watch out for you, it oftentimes and he drove there, came in by himself, yeah, like smiled, and was having a stroke, and then he ended up having um there was actually a cardiac anomaly, and that's why he hit thrown the cloud was because he actually had a cardiac anomaly that needed to be fixed.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Yeah, so very subtle signs, yeah, but um, it's really hard to recognize sometimes very much so. Uh, why is it so important to seek medical care immediately if someone might be having a stroke?

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Um, so you within 24 hours, you're still within treatment guidelines. So, treatment guidelines, or if you're within four hours, four and a half hours, you can get a powerful thrombolytic to kind of bust up that clot if it's not a bleed. Um, and then within 24 hours, you can still go to um interventional radiology and they can retrieve the clot if like the damage isn't already done. So, but you only have so long. So that's why time is very important. And if they think they are having a stroke, what should they do? Seek medical attention right away. Um, have someone drive you if you can't drive yourself, um, call 911, something like that, but just get help, it's not a waste of anyone's time. And then who's most at risk for stroke? So men have more or are most likely to have a stroke, but women often die from strokes. So um, there's that fun fact. But also, if you people who smoke, vape, do any drugs, um, people who are overweight, obese, um, high blood pressure, diabetes, things like that, they all increase your risk of stroke.

unknown 8:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

So we sometimes hear that stroke is affecting younger adults more. Are you seeing that?

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Um, yes and no. I think that it's kind of crazy to hear about a young person having a stroke, and so that kind of sticks with you more. But there's a lot more um diabetes and blood pressure issues in younger adults too now, um, as well as people young people having strokes, and like you said, cardiac anomalies, they can cause this, and that's kind of how people find out that they have them.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

So that leads to the next question is how important is managing blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and when it comes to preventing stroke?

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Very, very important. So, like that increased um resistance on your vessels, it just weakens them throughout time, and that's usually where you get the um the bleeds from is the decrease in um or the breakdown of the of your vasculature. Um, so just taking your medications like you should, um, exercising, eating healthy, following up with your doctor. It's all very important.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

So, say someone has a stroke, um, depending on what the severity of their stroke was, what would recovery look like for them?

SPEAKER_00 9:32

Um, some people have a stroke and they um are are eligible for the powerful thrombolytic that blood thinner medication, um, and they get that and they go home within a few days with leaving leading a normal life. Um, some people, you know, they get that and they don't recover because the time has been what's done was done. Um other people can do months and months of therapies and not even really get back to their baseline. So it really just depends on how severe how severe the stroke was and kind of their body and their health.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

And maybe, you know, if they did have a cardiac and nonmalin, they have to have a surgery, like those things also play a factor in that. Right. You know, trying to recover afterwards when they maybe they had something else that was actually causing it too. Yeah. Um, so as we close out today's episode, remember that when it comes to stroke, every second matters. Knowing the signs and acting quickly can truly save a life. If you notice sudden numbness, confusion, trouble speaking, vision changes, dizziness, or severe headache, do not wait. Call 911 right away. Quick action can make all the difference in recovery. Thank you for joining us this important conversation about stroke awareness. Until next time, stay informed, stay empowered, and we'll see you on the next Empower Indie podcast.