[Medical Q&A] What symptoms may signal a stroke?

Author: Wu Jian, Chief Physician of Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Hospital affiliated to Tsinghua University

Reviewer: Xing Yan, Chief Physician of Aviation General Hospital

Stroke (commonly known as "stroke") occurs very suddenly. The person may be fine, talking and eating the previous second or minute, but may collapse in an instant and suffer corresponding functional impairments.

There are many manifestations of stroke. For example, ischemic stroke (also called "cerebral infarction") depends on which blood vessel is blocked. If the motor area is blocked, movement disorders and limb paralysis will occur. Hemiplegia is more common, manifested as right or left side, one hand and foot have problems at the same time, some facial movements will also have problems, such as the corners of the mouth cannot be raised, the cheeks cannot be puffed up, etc., and some eye movements will also have problems. If the sensory area is blocked, sensory disorders will occur, manifested as limb numbness, most of the time half of the body is numb. If the language area is blocked, you will not understand what others are saying, or you can't speak when you want to, which is called "aphasia". If the visual function area is blocked, there will be visual impairment, which is manifested as inability to see things, or inability to see things in the peripheral vision, which is called hemianopsia. Of course, many patients will experience symptoms such as dizziness and headaches, which are common symptoms of stroke.

In fact, there is a simple "120 principle" to determine whether a stroke has occurred.

1: Look at the face, see if the mouth is crooked when smiling, and stick out the tongue to see if it is crooked.

2: Check the upper limbs to see if they will fall down after being lifted up or cannot be maintained; or if one side of the limbs is different from the other.

0: Listening and speaking, some people cannot speak, and some people cannot understand what others are saying.

If someone experiences any of the above symptoms, it is likely that a stroke has occurred and you should call emergency services immediately.