What are the signs and symptoms?

In most instances, a heart Attack or stroke is caused by a small blood clot lodged within a blood vessel leading to either the heart or brain. The lack of blood and oxygen causes injury, which increases steadily over time: therefore, prompt recognition and medical treatment are of utmost importance.

Blood clots forming in the blood vessels serving the heart cause heart Attacks; those that develop in or travel to the blood vessels in the brain are responsible for strokes

The signs and symptoms of heart Attack and stroke are listed below. It is important to remember that they can differ from one person to another and may "wax" and "wane" with time. If you are not sure, it is better to seek medical advice than to wait.

Warning Signs for Stroke

✓ Sudden weakness or numbness of face or limb on one side.
✓ Sudden, severe headache
✓ Difficulty talking or understanding speech
✓ Unexplained dizziness
✓ Sudden dimness/loss of vision, often in one eye.

Warning Signs for heart Attack

✓ Chest discomfort: uncomfortable pressure, squeezing or fullness
✓ Discomfort in other areas of the upper body: one or both arms or in the back, neck, jaw or stomach
✓ Shortness of breath, either with chest discomfort or alone.
✓ Other signs, including nausea, light-headedness or breaking out in cold sweat.

Being familiar with factors that increase the risk for either a heart Attack or stroke is the first step towards prevention

Prevention of Heart Attack and stroke

∆ stop smoking
∆ Engage in physical activity
∆ Use diet therapy
∆ Maintain/ reduce weight
∆ Control Blood pressure
∆ Undergo cholesterol control /statin therapy
∆ control blood sugar
∆ Limit alcohol intake.

How aware are you?

A recent American Heart Association sponsored telephone survey of more than 1,000 women who were over 25 years of age found that only 1 of every 3 women correctly identified the warning signs of stroke. awareness of heart Attack risk is low nationwide but was particularly low among Hispanic and black women.

There has been an overall improvement in the level of awareness among American women over the past decade. Both clear need and a large margin for improvement exist.