Local Medical Experts Talk About Stroke Prevention and Signs

Local medical experts from Conemaugh Nason Medical Central and UPMC Altoona talk about what people should know about strokes and how to prevent them as May is Stroke Awareness Month.

Dr. Cynthia Kenmuir, an endovascular neurologist at UPMC Altoona said there are two different types of strokes.

“About 85% of people get Ischemic strokes, and about 15% are hemorrhagic,” she said.

Strokes affect people of all ages, Dr.Kenmuir said.

“We see them in 20 year olds but they are more common as people age,” she said.

Time is the most important thing when it comes to strokes.

“You lose about 2 million brain cells per minute during a stroke,” Dr. Kenmuir said.

Anytime there is a sign of new symptoms that come on quickly, she recommends that people go to the hospital right away.

“Sometimes people will wake up during the middle of the night with symptoms and go back to sleep, or if it’s during the day they will take a nap,” Dr. Kenmuir said. “When they wake up it is often too late or the damage ends up being a whole lot more severe.”

The treatments for strokes can be administered, but a patient must get to the hospital as quickly as possible to be eligible for it.

“For people it can be a lifesaver and can make a big difference in being able to talk or use one side of the body,” she said.

Dr. Kenmuir said the biggest thing they stress with strokes is prevention.

Michelle Buttry, chief nursing officer at Nason, said they focus a lot on stroke prevention.

It is important for people to work on preventative measures with their primary care physician, she said.

Monitoring and treating high blood pressure is one the most critical things people can do according to Buttry, especially if they are diagnosed with the condition.

“You want to make sure that you treat it, take your medication and monitor it to make sure it is within certain limits — that is really going to help,” she said.

Quitting smoking also helps.

“Smoking is definitely another high risk situation,” Buttry said.

She said people with diabetes are at a higher risk for stroke.

“They can’t eliminate their diabetes, but they can control it in a better manner,” she said.

Buttry said eating healthy, and being physically active also helps with reducing the risk of stroke.

“Having a normal weight will also decrease the risk,” she said.

Buttry said cholesterol is something that they monitor at Nason as it can be a risk factor as well.

“Really prevention is the key,” she said.

There are some medical conditions that might make someone a higher risk for stroke.

“If you have those medical problems, you should follow up with your doctor to make sure you are on the right meds or treatment plan,” Buttry said.

She said if someone comes into the emergency room for a problem not related to stroke, they will send them home with information to help reduce the risk.

Throughout the year they try to work with a group of staff that will go out to apartment buildings, and senior service centers to take blood pressure for people to help with risk reductions.

“We don’t really want to see you here with a stroke because it is so devastating,” Buttry said.

The next step is early recognition, she said.

“If you are having a stroke, you have to act fast,” Buttry said. “Call 911 and get to the emergency room as quickly as possible.”

Symptoms of a stroke can be facial drooping, arm weakness, difficulty speaking.

Those who notice symptoms should go to a hospital that is certified in stroke care.

Nason is an acute hospital and certified by joint commission.

“We just went through our certification again and that means we have processes in place that allow us to act quickly when someone gets here,” Buttry said.

The most important thing is getting a patient to the CAT scanner to see what is going on.

“If there is a clot, they can give them a clot buster or if they are already bleeding they would be given medication to stop it,” she said.

People might often hear the term “mini-stroke”, which Buttry said is called TIAs which are not strokes, because the symptoms resolve.

“That means you have the opportunity to try to prevent further mini-strokes by making sure that blood pressure is better,” she said. “Not everyone that has a mini-stroke will have a bigger stroke, but it does lead to a bigger risk of having one.”

Recovery for someone that had a stroke is possible.

“You can recover, it is a matter of how much brain tissue has been damaged,” she said.

Buttry said while there might not be complete recovery, rehabilitation can help someone learn to work with a disability caused by a stroke.