What are the signs and symtoms of an impending stroke?

Question

Im worried about my father in law he keeps getting sharp shooting pains up the side of his neck into his head,he is worried its his heart but his EKG was fine,he is having a stress test today.

He is 59 years old and has always has high blood pressure and Cholesteral.

Answer 1

best answers you'll get are from doctors who will test him...

Answer 2

Sorry to say, that there are not obvious symptoms of a stroke. A stroke is caused by a blockage of a blood vessel in the brain. A "Brain Attack" is a good way to look at it. Many people have small strokes and never really know it. That is why high cholesterol and high blood pressure are high risk factors for stroke and heart attack. If your blood vessels are are already narrowed in your brain from cholesterol and a piece of it breaks off someplace else and hits that narrow passage, stroke. The fact the your father in law is seeing the doctors, getting and EKG and stress test are wonderful news. They have a process of elimination they go through to identify the problem.

Answer 3

this is an email about how to identify a stroke. i hope it helps.

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the
word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could
save some folks. Seriously.. Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured
everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just
tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up
and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up,
Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's
husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to
the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a
stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke,
perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a
helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours
he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the
trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the
patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately,
the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer
severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of
a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three
simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.

T * Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE
SENTENCE

(Coherently) (i.e. It
is sunny out today)

R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick'
out their
tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one
side or the other

that is also an indication of a stroke. If he or she
has trouble with

ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately !! and
describe the

symptoms to the dispatcher.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail
sends it to

10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be
saved.

Answer 4

The way u described the pain is very vague. Does he has episodes of heart attack? U may mean heart attack rather than stroke.

Heart attack- patient experienced 'stabbing' pain on the left side of the chest radiating to the left side of the neck. But it not necessarily be that way all the time, the pain could be centralised, radiating to the back, etc. An ECG and stress test will confirm if he has any heart failure.

Heart failure is a risk factor for stroke. Does your father in law has any history of illnesses eg. hypertension, diabetic, high cholesterol, family history, etc? All this are risk factors to get stroke.

Its sign and symptoms including weakness on either side of the body including the face. One may experience Transient Ischaemic Attack(TIA) or pre stroke attack. This include sudden weakness of one side of the body, but very mild and temporary. Their vision becomes blur for some time and they may described is as 'curtain falling' in front of the eyes.

Hope u get a clearer picture. And don't worry too much.
If it's heart attack, take care of diet, take supplements aside of the medication given and do some light exercise.

Answer 5

Common symptoms of a TIA, which are similar to those of a stroke yet temporary, include:



Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body

Sudden confusion or problems understanding

Sudden difficulty speaking

Sudden vision difficulty in one or both eyes

Sudden dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, or difficulty walking

Sudden, severe headache with no apparent cause

Answer 6

Stroke would be confusion, loss of feeling on one side of the body, difficulty speaking, slurred speech, severe headache, numbness and tingling..things like that.

Answer 7

the arteries in the neck can clog just like any others can. He sounds like he is in good hands with his cardiologist.

Answer 8

Native-WELL SAID!!! Keep passing that e-mail around, it could save a life!!