While other members of the office made the patient lie down on the floor, some brought water to sprinkle on his face, others rubbed his feet and still others put some sugar in his mouth, Raman understood what was happening. He ran to his car, shifted his boss inside and brought him to our hospital. After 4 hours the boss asked his family members to call Raman in Neuro ICU. When Raman arrived, his boss held his hand and said plainly, ‘Thank you for saving my life’.
Raman knew that when it comes to brain stroke – time is brain!
The longer the time elapses between the onset of a stroke and the medication or surgery needed to prevent the stroke, the more brain matter is trapped and lost by the stroke. So Raman, who had seen his father suffer from a stroke, learned 6 signs to recognize when he had a stroke.
I teach these signs in a nutshell- BE FAST
B-Balance- A person suffering from a stroke often begins with unexplained problems such as loss of balance or complaints of dizziness or heaviness of the head. They sit and hold on to something.
E- Eye problems- A person may complain that his vision is getting blurred. At this point they may blame it on something like walking too much in the sun or not having enough water during the day. This is the time when you need to start watching them carefully.
F – Facial fall. A person suffering from a stroke will appear as if half of the face (especially the lower half of one side of the face) is hanging or hanging. When they speak, it will seem that one side of the face is not making any expressions. Usually the attendants say that they saw the face turning. What’s happening is that one side doesn’t make an expression, then the other side looks like it’s rotating more than usual, causing a twisting-like expression.
A- Weakness of the hand- Weakness of the hand is not as obvious as it appears. A person with a stroke may not know the weakness creeps in until the object falls from the hand. Most of the time, the patient falls from the chair to the affected side. This is because the muscles of the trunk are also paralyzed and cannot bear the weight of the body.
S-Speech – A person suffering from a stroke (especially if the stroke is on the left side of the brain) will show problems with speech. Often, this is the first thing that is noticed if the patient is talking to someone in front of them. The patient may be silent, empty, confused. A word may keep on repeating, or the speech may be jumbled or even irrelevant.
T- This is not a sign. The ‘T’ is placed to impress upon the learner the importance of time in the treatment of stroke. So I would like to reiterate the slogan that I love the most – ‘Time is brain!’.
A brain stroke is a sudden, life-changing event in a person’s life. What most people don’t realize is that it has changed not only the life of the patient, but the lives of the patient’s caregivers as well. Caring for a stroke patient at home is one of the biggest challenges facing any family. After seeing hundreds of stroke patients, I have realized that the breadwinner of a family is usually the most stressed member and therefore also the most common person who has a stroke, destroying the family financially.
But if a brain stroke is detected and brought to a competent, fast-responding neurological facility, it can not only be controlled, but in many cases it can also be treated. Hence BE-FAST is an acronym that came in the teaching of first aid.
Stroke can happen to anyone, anywhere and your knowledge of these signs can be the difference between life and death for the person in front of you.
My wish for everyone on World Stroke Day is simple: just BE-FAST.
This article is written by Dr. Nishant Shankar Yagnik, Senior Consultant – Neurosurgery, Columbia Asia Hospital, Palam Vihar.
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