Stroke is a life-threatening emergency just like a myocardial infarction. He requires urgent hospitalization. It is therefore better to know how to recognize the signs in order to act as quickly as possible.
What symptoms? The cerebrovascular accident also called “attack” or “cerebral congestion” is a sudden disturbance of the irrigation of a part of the brain: it can be an artery which is clogged or an artery which breaks . The severity of the attack depends on the extent and region affected. It is an extremely frequent and very serious pathology (approximately 125,000 attacks) per year in France and 75% after 65 years). It is the third leading cause of death.
Symptoms occur very suddenly and sometimes during sleep. They are manifested by sudden and intense headaches, muscle weakness, even paralysis of the face, of a hand, of an arm, or of the leg on the same side, visual disturbances, speech difficulties or comprehension, dumbness, balance disorders and loss of feeling in all or part of the body. About 30% of strokes are preceded by transient warning signs, but they are often overlooked due to a lack of information. If in doubt, it is essential to call 15 immediately and try to give quick explanations so that the patient can be transferred urgently to a neurovascular pathology department.