“Too many patients say “We’ll see tomorrow” but it’s too late,” warns Olivier Temgoua, head of the neurology department at the Dreux hospital center.
Out of 150,000 people who have a stroke each year in France, 30,000 die from it, or 1 in 5 people. To avoid the worst, we must act very quickly, that is to say within a few seconds, or even minutes. And therefore be able to spot the symptoms of stroke. Luckily, there are not many of them and, above all, they are particularly characteristic which allows, once you know them, to have no doubts when facing a victim.. “A patient who benefits from optimal care maximizes his chances of complete recovery compared to a patient who would benefit from late treatment” recalls Olivier Temgoua, head of the neurology department at the Dreux hospital center, to L’Echo Républicain.
In the event of a stroke, the brain no longer receives a sufficient supply of blood and oxygen, either because a clot blocks a vessel (80% of cases) or because it ruptures and causes hemorrhage (20% of cases). Stroke can occur at any time of the day, day or night. “There are still a lot of patients who say ‘I had this, but we’ll see tomorrow’ when they go to bed and unfortunately, they have a stroke in the night and it’s too late. When you still have a case like that in practice, you have to continue to get the message across” continues the neurologist.
Symptoms always come on suddenly “from one second to the next or over a few minutes, sometimes over a few hours but suddenly” Professor Sonia Alamowitch, Head of the Cerebrovascular Emergency Department at Salpétrière Hospital (Paris) explained to us in a previous article. What should alert? “Think of the word FAST”advises Dr. Temgoua. “V for Distorted face (one half of the face suddenly falls), I for Inability to raise one or two arms, one or two legs, T for speech problems, E for Extreme emergency.” A person who suddenly presents these symptoms before sleeping, for no apparent reason, should not go to bed.
“It is imperative to call 15 to prevent the stroke from becoming complete and definitive. Within 4.5 hours after the appearance of symptoms, we can offer treatment to dissolve the clot. Up to 6 hours later, we can do a trombectomy by suctioning out the clot. But beyond that, it’s too late”insists the specialist. Stroke results from a combination of factors well known to doctors: poorly controlled hypertension, excess cholesterol, heart rhythm disorders. Diabetes, tobacco, alcohol and a sedentary lifestyle further increase the risk. With age, the arteries become fragile, and the danger increases.
