Early Warning Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke: An Introduction
Early warning
signs of a stroke are clues that your body sends to indicate that your brain is not receiving enough oxygen and nutrients. If your brain does not receive oxygen and nutrients for a period of time, permanent damage (i.e., a
stroke) can result. If you observe one or more of these early warning signs, don't wait, call a doctor or 911 right away.
Specific Early Warning Signs
Specific early signs that may be a warning of stroke include:
- Sudden confusion
- Trouble speaking or understanding speech
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, hand, or leg (especially on one side of the body)
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes (such as double vision, blurred vision, or blindness)
- Sudden trouble walking
- Sudden dizziness or lightheadedness
- Sudden loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
- Vomiting
- Seizures (in a small number of cases).
Keep in mind that even if these symptoms pass quickly, they are important early signs that require medical attention.
Are TIAs Early Symptoms of a Stroke?
Sometimes, early signs of a stroke occur, but they may last only a few moments and then disappear. This type of brief episode is known as a
transient ischemic attack, or
TIA (sometimes called a "
mini-stroke").
Because there is no way to tell whether symptoms are from a
TIA or a stroke, assume that all stroke-like symptoms signal an emergency -- do not wait to see if they go away. A prompt evaluation (within 60 minutes) is necessary to identify the cause of the stroke and to determine appropriate therapy.
Even if symptoms do get better, a serious problem caused the TIA and it isn't going away without medical help. Therefore, do not ignore these early warning signs of a stroke -- heeding them and getting treatment can save your life.
