Health

Many Senior Adults Ignore Stroke Warning Signs, UAB Study Shows

Would you be able to recognize the signs of a stroke? If you’re currently in good health and don’t have a history of stroke in your family, you may think a stroke won’t happen to you – but it can. In fact, stroke is the # 3 cause of death in the U.S. and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. “While stroke affects all age groups, older people have a higher risk for stroke than the general population, and this risk increases with age,” explains Chairman of the UAB Department of Biostatistics George Howard, DrPH. “For every decade after the age of 55, the risk of stroke doubles. Also, two-thirds of all strokes occur in people over 65.”

Stroke Symptoms Going Unrecognized, Unreported

Dr. Howard and his colleagues at UAB are conducting a long-term, national study of 30,000 people over the age of 65 to help explain an important and puzzling mystery about stroke — why do Southerners and African-Americans suffer from higher-than-average stroke mortality rates? “Researchers now know that the explanation is more complex than the factors once thought to be among the causes — such as lower socio-economic status and poor diet. The data collected in our study will help to provide answers to this important question.”

The study has already uncovered an alarming early finding through face-to-face evaluations and phone interviews with study participants about their health conditions and habits. “When we named specific stroke symptoms and asked the subjects in our study if they had ever experienced any of them, 1 in 5 reported that they had experienced one of more of these symptoms,” says Dr. Howard. “What’s more disturbing is that more than half of the subjects who experienced these symptoms never reported them to their doctors.” The study has also shown that the participants who reported experiencing stroke symptoms were also more likely to have impaired thinking ability and a lower quality of life.

Dr. Howard says that in the study, stroke symptoms were more commonly experienced by African Americans. “And, the symptoms were also related to health conditions that are risk factors for stroke, such as diabetes and hypertension,” he adds.

Know the Warning Signs of Stroke

Dr. Howard emphasizes that the need for older adults to pay attention to stroke symptoms is paramount. “The bottom-line message from our study is that senior adults need to learn the symptoms of stroke and seek emergency treatment right away if they experience any of them,” he explains. “Even if the symptoms disappear, it’s important to report them to your doctor as soon as possible.”

Symptoms of stroke appear suddenly. Become familiar with these symptoms, and be prepared to act quickly for yourself or on behalf of someone else:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble talking, or understanding speech.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

If you think you or someone know is experiencing any of these symptoms of a stroke, don’t wait — call 9-1-1 immediately. Effective therapies for treating stroke are now available, but they must be given with the first 3 hours after stroke symptoms appear.

“We seem to have a silent epidemic among older adults of failing to recognize and report stroke symptoms,” says Dr. Howard. “But we know that encouraging older adults to recognize these symptoms and seek immediate treatment can save lives.”