HEALTH: Five Symptoms Of Stroke

• Numbness or weakness particularly on one side of the body. This can be in the face, an arm, or a leg. If someone you’re with appears to be experiencing this, ask the person to smile, lift both arms, or move both legs, the National Stroke Association recommends. If one side of the body doesn’t respond, it may be a sign of stroke.

• Confusion or trouble speaking. If a person is having difficulty talking or understanding, also known as aphasia, it could mean that blood is not getting to the area of the brain that controls language. Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence; slurred or strange speech could indicate trouble.

• Vision and perception problems. Stroke can diminish sight in one or both eyes or cause double vision. It can also lessen a person’s ability to make sense of basic visual cues, like recognising a face or familiar objects, say, or being unable to differentiate between a mirror image and the object being reflected.

• Trouble moving. Loss of coordination and balance or difficulty walking can signal that a stroke has occurred in the part of the brain where voluntary muscle coordination is controlled.

• Severe headache. A painful headache out of the blue or with no known cause may signal a stroke, most often heamorrhagic stroke.

• Another kind of headache—namely, migraines—isn’t a symptom of a stroke but is one of seven signs you may be at risk of having a stroke.

Source: www.health.usnews.com