Symptoms

The symptoms which are very common in stroke are drooping of mouth on one side, slurred speech, paralysis, and muscle weakness. There is a slogan created in the campaigns for the awareness of the acute stroke, Stroke-act F.A.S.T.

The word F is used for face to see if one side of the patient’s face is drooping? Is the smile uneven?

The A is used for arms: Can the patient raise both arms and can the patient hold them there?

The word S is used for speech: Can the patient speak? Is the speech slurred or difficult to understand?

The word T is used for time: Time is very crucial in this situation, which means you should call the ambulance immediately.

Diagnosis

A quick neurological examination can help the doctor to diagnose you. Medical imaging procedures can be used to identify the intracranial hemorrhage, which can be a reason for the symptoms. Your doctor may recommend medical imaging procedures such as MRI and CT.

Treatment

In many cases, the first treatment is a dose of drugs directly inserted in the veins, which helps to dissolve the clots of blood. This treatment is called fibrinolytic therapy. If the symptoms you are feeling are due to the blood clot present in the large blood vessel, this means you are not suitable for this therapy. In this case, bigger and more intense treatment, called endovascular treatment, is used to treat the patient. In this treatment, the interventional radiologist eliminates the blood clots using the guidance of X-ray and through the aid of devices inserted and placed by microcatheters.

 If you experience an acute stroke, you may be admitted to the hospital and remain there for a few days.

Dr Nikolas Charalambous is named among the most prominent interventional radiologist. Get a free consultation for a minimally invasive treatment of brain, neck, and spine.