May 11, 2023 general

The risk of having a stroke should not be left to chance. 795,000 Americans a year are not lucky in that regard and 137,000 of them do not get a second chance at prevention (or anything else). These days, strokes are happening to folks as young as 20 and more often to women. High blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and smoking are some of the risk factors. I used an article in the May Costco Connection as a resource for this blog, but I believe that some of my research went above and beyond the call of duty—I actually experienced a stroke*.

When a clot blocks the flow of blood to the brain (ischemic stroke), that part of it no longer works. The same can occur from a ruptured blood vessel in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). All the things that we discuss (nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle improvements) to support cardiovascular health are protective in both cases. One common cause of blockage strokes is heart clots due to a heart rhythm abnormality, atrial fibrillation (a-fib). As explained in the footnote, please take this seriously.

ACT QUICKLY if you see or experience signs of a stroke. (Get medical help! Now is not the time to start an herb program.)  Mayo Clinic lists these signs:

• Trouble speaking and understanding what others are saying.
• Paralysis or numbness of the face, arm or leg.
• Problems seeing in one or both eyes.
• Headache. (sudden and severe)
• Trouble walking. (dizziness or a loss of coordination)

“F.A.S.T.” is a shorthand easy to remember reminder:

• Facial droop on one side
• Arm or leg weakness
• Speech difficulties
• Time (if these first three are present, it is time to call 911 immediately) [besides the help you get in the ambulance, the hospital is notified to be ready for your needs.]

I wish you good luck, but also urge you to avoid stroke risks and know the signs to help yourself and others around you.

*PERSONAL “RESEARCH” For decades, I very occasionally experienced an uncomfortable rapid heart rate that made me feel a little weak and lightheaded. Not until I finally saw a cardiologist did I learn that the symptom was due to atrial fibrillation (a-fib) discussed above. My cardiologist said that the occasional fast beat and irregular heart rhythm was not in itself very serious but still suggested a medical procedure, ablation, to make it stop. Ablation uses freezing or burning to scar part of the heart. That sounded just too extreme and permanent. I had long been accustomed to finding the cause of problems and using natural remedies. So, when the episodes became longer and more frequent, I started a diary to see if I could figure out the trigger. Patterns did seem to develop around several things such as stress, alcohol, sugar, dehydration, low magnesium, etc. However, watching those things did not totally solve the problem. One episode instead of lasting just hours, lasted a week. During that time, I was eating lunch on the couch and coughed. Luckily, husband Bill heard me and came to see if I needed the Heimlich maneuver. I had trouble telling him that I was just trying to cough up some juice I inhaled from an apple I was eating. He later told me that I was leaning to one side, and he became concerned. Luckily, he knew the signs of stroke and asked me to raise my arms. When my left one would not go up, we both knew it was time to call 911. Luckily, the ambulance arrived in 5 minutes and gave me stroke first aid on the way to the hospital which luckily was only 5 minutes away. More luck—the closest hospital is a certified Comprehensive Stroke Center. So, within 30 minutes of being on the couch identifying the stroke, I had surgery to remove the clot in my brain. While, as you can see, my event was probably preventable and a whole lot of luck (or divine help) was involved, along with fast action were reasons that I have no lingering effects from that major stroke. Also key, within days I received Infiniti Matrix therapy. I know that helped heal the damage before it could become permanent. Since then, I wisely decided to put aside my visceral resistance to pharmaceuticals in favor of staying alive and now regularly take a medication (flecainide) that reliably prevents a-fib.