{"id":141262,"date":"2017-01-03T07:40:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T05:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/141262\/be-aware-of-what-a-stroke-entails\/"},"modified":"2017-01-03T08:20:34","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T06:20:34","slug":"be-aware-of-what-a-stroke-entails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2017\/01\/03\/be-aware-of-what-a-stroke-entails\/","title":{"rendered":"Be aware of what a stroke entails"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Stroke is a common and serious condition affecting millions of people around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>ER24 urges people to learn about the condition.<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<p>A stroke, which could lead to death or disability, occurs when blood flow to parts of the brain is cut off.<\/p>\n<p>There are two types of stroke.<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<p>The most common is the ischemic stroke.<\/p>\n<p>An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel supplying blood to part of the brain, becomes blocked by a blood clot.<\/p>\n<p>The blood clot could either form in an artery in the brain, or travel to the brain through a blood vessel from another part of the body.<\/p>\n<p>The second less common but more likely fatal type of stroke, is the hemorrhagic stroke which occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts\/ruptures, causing bleeding.<\/p>\n<p>Recognising the signs of a stroke early and seeking urgent medical assistance, are of utmost importance as it increases the person\u2019s chances of survival and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>If you suspect you or someone else is having a stroke, conduct the FAST test.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The FAST test entails the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Face \u2013 Is one side of the person\u2019s face drooping? The person should smile or show their teeth. If one side is drooping, they could be having a stroke.<\/li>\n<li>Arm \u2013 The person should keep their arms raised for a few seconds. If one arm drifts down or is weak, they could be having a stroke.<\/li>\n<li>Speech \u2013 The person should try to speak. If there is slurring or if the person struggles to understand or repeat any sentence, they could be having a stroke.<\/li>\n<li>Time \u2013 If the person experiences any of the above, call emergency services immediately.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Immediate and appropriate care can improve a patient\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n<p>Strokes can be reversed, if treated before the affected brain tissue dies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Risk factors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are a number of risk factors that increase a person\u2019s chance of having a stroke.<\/p>\n<p>Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading cause of strokes (and heart attacks) in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Hence, it&#8217;s vital that you get your blood pressure measured regularly.<\/p>\n<p>Risk factors for stroke also include diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, heart disease and stress.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s vital that people live a healthier lifestyle, to reduce chances of having a stroke.<\/p>\n<p>Quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, making the right food choices (such as reducing salt and sugar intake) and including moderate exercise into your daily routine, can make a positive difference.<\/p>\n<div class=\"stream-item stream-item-below-post-content\">\n<div class='tenancy_slot tenancy_slot_1 jannah_ad' style='display: none;' data-query-id='e5c2933e2f4ca7e9f716818005ff069a'><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recognising the signs of a stroke early and seeking urgent medical assistance are of utmost importance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1848,"featured_media":141441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[509,7,2],"tags":[1824,979,969,1342,2734,12972,1848],"class_list":["post-141262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-note","category-local-news","category-news-headlines","tag-er24","tag-germiston","tag-germiston-city-news","tag-health","tag-melissa-hart","tag-signs","tag-stroke"],"amp_enabled":true,"category_labels":{"Category":"News","SubCategory":"Local news"},"tag_labels":["ER24","germiston","germiston city news","health","melissa hart","signs","Stroke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}