What Are The Signs Of A Stroke

There are signs of a stroke that you should be familiar with so that in the case of a stroke happening to you or another person, you will be able to respond in a timely way. It is important that treatment starts immediately when a stroke occurs because the sooner the treatment starts, the sooner it becomes possible to reduce the effects of the stroke.

The signs of a stroke are caused from an interruption of blood flow or a hemorrhage that happens in the brain. The effects of a stroke can be devastating because the brain is the master manager of our bodies.

The different functions and activities of our bodies find direction from our brain. When a blood flow or hemorrhage occurs in the brain, then the symptoms that result will be related to the brain function that occurs in the affected area of the brain.

Though there are a variety of stroke symptoms, these are the top identifying signs of a stroke.

Sudden Loss of Strength or Numbness

If you feel a numbness or loss of strength in a body part suddenly then you should know that this could be a symptom of a stroke. It can be an arm, leg or foot or other body part that suddenly loses power or grows numb so be aware of this symptom.

Sudden Problem With Speech, Written Word Or Comprehension

If you or anyone near you is suddenly having problems with talking or carrying on a conversation and you notice that comprehending the words is difficult, this can be one of the signs of a stroke and should be treated seriously.

Sudden Vision Problems

Any sudden problems with vision should be immediately treated as serious and you should waste no time with seeking help if you suddenly experience tunnel vision, blurriness or any other vision problem.

Sudden Headache And/or Dizziness

Many times a headache and dizziness, which are each two major signs of a stroke, may be ignored if a person does not know that it is possible to have mini strokes. Mini strokes can easily be passed off as a strange little headache or momentary dizziness when you are busy doing something and can be ignored.

If you or anyone that you know experiences one or more of signs of a stroke, you should consult medical care immediately. There is a window of about three hours after a stroke where the patient has the greatest chances of recovery and for successful medical treatment.

Use A Cholesterol Chart To Evaluate Your Health Risks

Most adults have had their cholesterol levels checked at least once. The results of this simple blood test must be checked against several different cholesterol charts to determine what, if any, steps are necessary to correct readings that are not ideal.

What Does Each Cholesterol Chart Evaluate?

There are four major cholesterol charts used to classify the levels of different types of cholesterol found in your blood. The first chart breaks down total cholesterol into three levels. Blood levels of less than 200mg/dl are considered to be normal, levels of 200-239 mg/dl are considered borderline high and levels of 240 mg/dl or higher are considered high.

The next cholesterol chart deals with bad or LDL cholesterol levels. On this chart there are four levels. LDL cholesterol levels of less than 100 mg/dl are considered normal, levels of 100-129 mg/dl are considered to be near optimal, levels of 130-159 mg/dl are considered borderline high and levels of 160 mg/dl or higher care considered high.

The chart for good cholesterol, known as HDL cholesterol, readings has but two levels. Desirable levels of HDL cholesterol are 60 mg/dl, anything 40 mg/dl or less are considered low and at risk for heart disease.

Triglycerides are a form of fat found in your blood that increases when the amount of calories eaten exceeds the amount of calories burned over a period of time. They are a major source of energy for your body. The fourth cholesterol chart sorts triglyceride levels into three categories. Triglyceride levels of less than 150 mg/dl are considered normal, levels of 150-199 mg/dl are borderline high and levels of 200 mg/dl or more are considered high.

Talk To Your Doctor

When you receive the results of your cholesterol test find yours levels in each of the cholesterol charts. Review the results with your doctor and discuss ways to bring each category of cholesterol in line with the normal levels suggested.

Many things affect your cholesterol levels such as eating too many fatty foods, little or no exercise, smoking and even genetics. If your levels of cholesterol fall pretty close to normal on the cholesterol charts, dietary and lifestyle changes may be enough to return them to normal. If not, there are many medications that can help.

Controlling your cholesterol levels will help prevent health problems from possibly shortening your life. Heart disease and blocked arteries can be caused by prolonged high cholesterol level in the human body.

Practicing Heart Attack Prevention Can Save Lives

There are many things to fear throughout your life, but the one thing that scares people the most often is the possibility of having a heart attack. There may some problems in a cardio vascular system that remain hidden until a heart attack occurs, but there are also measures of heart attack prevention that can be taken to avert a sudden attack.

Some of the key elements to heart attack prevention are simply changes in lifestyle. With so many of the reasons for a heart attack, and the understanding of the risk factors, there are few acceptable reasons for a person to ignore them, tempting their fate of having one. Remember, it is not only the person having a heart attack that is affected, their loved ones around them also suffer in different ways.

With heart attack being the leading cause of death among men and women, and one of the leading causes of heart attack being smoking, it is a wonder that anyone still smoke today. Although no longer defined as a bad habit, the addiction to nicotine is well documented, but so is it documented that quitting smoking is a key part of heart attack prevention.

Exercise Two-Prong Prevention Attack

Physical exercise is also part of heart attack prevention, in that it can keep the heart muscle strong as well as helping the patient lose weight, with being overweight another risk factor to having a heart attack. Diabetes, another disease blamed for prompting a heart attack, can be controlled by drugs and weight loss. Exercise can be of benefit to those with diabetes by helping them lose weight while at the same time helping with heart attack prevention.

The choices people make concerning their diet is another means of heart attack prevention as it has been researched that a diet high in cholesterol can cause blood clots over time that have been shown to be a leading cause of heart attack. By eating a heart-healthy diet, people can reduce to formation of blood clots, thereby reducing the odds of having a heart attack.

While exercise can help people with weight problems, it also promoted the formation of what is called good cholesterol, but any exercise regimen should involve consultation with your doctor. For those deemed at risk to have a heart attack, prevention methods using exercise must be taken in moderation. Sudden, extreme exercise can overwork an ailing heart causing the very problem they are trying to prevent.

Minding The Early Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, yet many women don’t know what to look for and expect. Many women think that heart attacks are something suffered mostly by middle aged, overweight smokers and are always accompanied by severe crushing pain in the chest. In fact the early heart attack symptoms in women are often different than those symptoms more commonly found in men, and if you don’t know what to look for, you may not even realize that you’ve had a heart attack.
Symptoms During Heart Attack
The symptoms most often associated with heart attacks are severe pain or tightness in the chest, along with shortness of breath. While these are the most common symptoms in men, many women may never even experience chest pain. Rather, the early heart attack symptoms in women tend to be more focused on the secondary symptoms. Women are more likely than men to experience nausea, shortness of breath, and fatigue during heart attacks, so it’s easy to mistake a heart attack for something else.
Symptoms Before Heart Attack
One of the advantages of knowing the early heart attack symptoms in women is that you may even be able to detect a problem before you have a heart attack. The most common symptom that women experience leading up to a heart attack is extreme and unexplained fatigue. Other early heart attack symptoms to look for before a heart attack are sleep disturbance and extreme anxiety. If you have been experiencing these symptoms, particularly if you are at risk for heart attack, you should see your doctor as soon as possible.
What To Do If You Experience Symptoms
If you have experienced any of the common early heart attack symptoms in women, you should see your doctor immediately. The only way to detect whether you’ve actually had a heart attack is through a series of tests, including an EKG to detect any abnormalities in your heart functioning and a blood test to detect elevated enzyme levels that may be a result of heart attack. He or she will then give you a plan of what to do next, in terms of medication, diet, and exercise.
Even if you have experienced some of the early heart attack symptoms listed above, there is no need to panic. Fatigue, nausea, and shortness of breath can all have other causes which are unrelated to heart disease. However, if you have reason to believe that you have had a heart attack, make sure to see your doctor immediately. Knowing the early heart attack symptoms most common in women will help you to take control of your own health and life.