Most of us don't know enough about America's #3 killer and #1 cause of disability - or about how to protect ourselves

Stroke is the third largest cause of death, the top cause of disability, and the single biggest reason why people are admitted to nursing homes. But despite this, studies have shown that Americans don’t know enough about why strokes happen, what to do when they happen – or how to prevent strokes from happening in the first place.

Question 1: What is a stroke?
Answer: It’s a brain emergency just like a heart attack is a heart emergency. Both heart attack and stroke are diseases of the blood vessels, which occur when blood does not get to a part of the brain. Time lost in seeking help results in loss of brain function.

Question 2: Are all strokes the same?
Answer: No. Most are caused by blocked blood vessels in the brain, but some are caused by bleeding in the brain. All strokes are not created equal. About 80 percent are ischemic strokes, which occur when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked by a clot or fatty buildup. Ten percent occur due to brain vessel anomalies, such as aneurysm and vessel malformation that may rupture. Some are called subarachnoid hemorrhages, and others are intracerebral hemorrhages. The heart can be enlarged and may have arrythmias or clots within it that may also cause strokes. Tumors may present as strokes.

Question 3: Are some people pre-destined to have a stroke?
Answer: No. For many people, stroke is the most preventable of all catastrophic conditions. There’s much that can be done to prevent a stroke.

Question 4: What are the signs that someone is having a stroke?
Answer: Any sudden changes in thinking, feeling, moving, speaking, understanding or seeing. Stroke symptoms usually occur all-of-a-sudden. Some can come and go. The most common symptoms are sudden onset of weakness or numbness on one side of the body, difficulty in speaking or understanding, and losing vision in an eye, like a shade coming down from above in one eye. Strokes can also cause unexplained clumsiness, make a person drop objects, or cause someone to fall. See our section on Thinking F.A.S.T. in an emergency, elsewhere in our website.

Question 5: What should you do if you think you, or someone near you, is having a stroke?
Answer: Call 911 immediately. The faster a person gets diagnosed and treated, the better his or her chances will be. Don’t wait, don’t call your doctor’s office first, don’t drive yourself to the hospital. Don’t think that it’s not a stroke just because you don’t have any of the risk factors. Get an ambulance fast.

Question 6: Does having a stroke mean you’re definitely going to die or be disabled?
Answer: Not necessarily. Better and faster treatment is giving more people a chance to walk out of the hospital with minimal problems. Patients may do even better if they go to a hospital with an accredited stroke center, like Heart of Florida Regional’s.

Question 7: Do only elderly people have strokes?
Answer: No. Although the risk of a stroke goes up with age, people of any age can suffer strokes.

Question 8: What makes someone more likely to have a stroke?
Answer: High blood pressure is the number one risk factor. Others include smoking, diabetes, being overweight, having an abnormal heart-rhythm condition or other heart disease, or being related to someone who has had a stroke are all risk factors that increase the chances a person will have a stroke. A person’s risk goes up with every additional risk factor he or she has.

Family history is important. If your mother, father, sister, brother or child has had a stroke, you’re at increased risk. People who are overweight, especially if they also have problems with blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, have a higher risk. And of course, people who have survived a stroke or had a “mini stroke”, also called a TIA, have a much higher risk.

Question 9: What can people do to cut their stroke risk?
Answer: Virtually all the risk factors for stroke are things that can be treated and limited. Quit smoking, lose weight, exercise more, get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked, and keep your blood-sugar levels under control if you have diabetes.