World Stroke Day

ANOTHERWORD SERIES

World Stroke Day: What Are Strokes, and Why Are They Important

This month our AnotherWord Blog series is highlighting World Stroke Day - an annual campaign that raises awareness about strokes, their symptoms, prevention, and why they matter.

This year alone, 14.5 million people will have a stroke, and 5.5 million people will die as a result (a 38% mortality rate.) Globally, 1 in 4 adults over the age of 25 will suffer a stroke. 80 million people have survived strokes worldwide, but many still face cognitive, speech, and mobility disabilities, in addition to financial, social, and emotional burdens, which result from their cutoff of income and social circles. This is a startling statistic but true nevertheless, and that is why it is so important for us to understand and educate ourselves on stroke in order to spread public awareness and best prepare for all diagnosis, treatment, and care for survivors.

What is a stroke: Stroke is a disruption of blood supply to the brain, resulting in oxygen starvation, brain damage and loss of function. The extent and location of the damage determines the severity of the stroke, which can be deadly. Read about different types of stroke.

Signs: It is important to know the signs of stroke so we can get our clients the care they need as soon as possible. Time loss is brain loss. Call 911 immediately if you observe the following symptoms:

B - BALANCE - Watch for sudden loss of balance

E - EYES - Check for blurry vision

F - FACE - Look for facial drop, uneven smile

A - ARM - Check for arm numbness or weakness

S - SPEECH - Listen for Slurred speech, or inability to speak

T - TIME to call 911 immediately

Prevention: Up to 90% of strokes can be prevented by addressing certain risk factors, such as diet, exercise, and smoking. Paying attention to these factors can reduce cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and overall significant causes of death all around the world. Find out more.

Recovery: Recovery is not for the wary. It is a long journey that takes tremendous commitment from not only the patients, but from the family/caregivers as well. Depending on the stroke, survivors may have to learn how to walk again, speak again, and think again. These hardships have become much harder in the midst of COVID-19, where social networks become disconnected and feelings of isolation and depression have heightened. (There is also growing evidence showing that COVID-19 infection increases a person’s risk of stroke, even for younger individuals and those who have no other risk factors).

In addition to the physical and communication challenges stroke survivors and their families endure, they are often faced with huge financial changes. Because most jobs require the ability to read and write, many stroke survivors are faced with a loss of income in addition to the acquired medical expenses. If clients do have medical coverage they often won’t have enough coverage for their needs, and some policies have a set number of visits that have to be shared between speech and physical therapy.

We have seen that survivors often choose to focus on physical therapy first as they want to regain their mobility. However, this choice means that they would not receive adequate speech therapy and cognitive treatment unless they spend additional tens of thousands of dollars.

Austin Speech Labs is a nonprofit that was founded 13 years ago by speech pathologists who recognized this problem and believe that all stroke survivors deserve to have speech and cognitive therapy at an affordable price so their clients do not have to compromise between being able to walk again, and being able to speak or think again. We want to help stroke survivors rebuild their lives and spread the word so that others can understand the importance of stroke recovery and get involved to raise awareness on this deeply significant phenomenon.