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Stroke
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BRAIN
HEALTH
After a
miraculous
recovery, Larry
is back to
enjoying life
with his wife,
Linda.
Treating hemorrhagic strokes
involves managing the bleeding and
easing pressure on the brain. “Get-
ting to the hospital quickly is vital,
because every minute could help
prevent further harm to the brain,”
Dr. Helm says.
When Larry arrived at Saint Agnes,
the prognosis was grim. “We were
told he probably wouldn’t make it
through the night,” Linda says. But
Larry was lucky.
After being in a coma for 10 days,
he awoke and began his slow recov-
ery. “About three days later, he called
me by a nickname only he used for
me – ‘Boo’ – and then I knew Larry
was in there,” Linda says.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
Recognizing the signs of a stroke
is critical. They are sudden and
may include:
•
Numbness or weakness of the
face, arm or leg, often on one side
of the body.
•
Confusion or trouble speaking or
understanding speech.
•
Difficulty seeing in one or both eyes.
•
Trouble with balance or walking.
•
A severe headache for no known
cause, sometimes with nausea
or vomiting.
Being older is one risk factor for
stroke – the risk of having a stroke
approximately doubles for each
decade of life after age 55, the
AHA reports.
Other risk factors include:
•
High blood pressure
•
Smoking
•
Heart disease or diabetes
•
Abnormal cholesterol levels
•
History of brief warning strokes,
called transient ischemic attacks
•
Personal or family history
of stroke
Keeping these factors in check
is key. Larry’s smoking habit was a
contributor, as well as high blood
pressure, which he admits he easily
overlooked. “It’s one of those silent
killers,” Larry says. “If it doesn’t affect
you, you don’t pay attention to it.”
Talk to your doctor about your risk
for stroke and what you can do to
lower it. “While you can’t change
certain risk factors, like age, you can
adjust your lifestyle to lessen your
odds,” Dr. Helm says.
Larry has taken this advice to heart.
After more than 40 days in the hos-
pital, he returned home and made
a miraculous journey back to good
health. That includes being smoke-
free ever since his stroke and sticking
to a low-sodium diet.
Larry and Linda continue to count
their blessings. In fact, one year to
the day after Larry awoke from his
coma, the couple decided to start a
new chapter together – as husband
and wife.
CHECK THIS OUT!
To hear more of Larry and Linda’s
story, visit
www.samc.com/my-
saint-agnes-story or scan this code
with your smartphone.
GOOD AS GOLD!
Valley residents can trust that they
have access to exceptional stroke
care. Saint Agnes Medical Cen-
ter is proud to be certified as an
Advanced Primary Stroke Center
by The Joint Commission.
This means that Saint Agnes
follows evidence-based standards
and guidelines that are shown to
significantly improve outcomes for
stroke patients.
On February 10, 2013, 65-year-old
Larry White celebrated his seventh
re-birthday. It’s a day Larry will never
forget, marking the day he awoke
from a 10-day stroke-induced coma.
Just seven years earlier, when
Larry didn’t show up at his parents’
home for a visit, his family thought
something was wrong. “I just had a
feeling,” Larry’s then girlfriend, Linda,
says. “So I returned home.”
She found him collapsed on the
floor and called 9-1-1. Paramedics
rushed Larry to Saint Agnes Medical
Center, where tests confirmed he’d
suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.
WHAT IS STROKE?
Stroke usually occurs in one of
two ways:
•
When the supply of blood to part
of the brain is suddenly interrupted.
•
When a burst blood vessel leaks
blood into or around the brain.
“The first type – called an ischemic
stroke – is the most common,” neu-
rologist Melvin Helm, MD, says. “This
happens when an artery supplying
blood to the brain becomes blocked
or narrowed, often because of a clot.”
These account for about 87 percent
of strokes, the American Heart Asso-
ciation (AHA) reports.
Less common – as in Larry’s case
– and often more deadly is a hemor-
rhagic stroke. “These can happen
when a weak spot in the artery’s wall
is stretched to a breaking point or
becomes thin and brittle and then
breaks,” Dr. Helm says.
In both types of stroke, brain cells
die either because they are starved of
oxygen and nutrients or because of
damage caused by the pooling blood.
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