Dizziness, shaking hands, or wobbling when walking? Don’t be careless, seek medical attention immediately!

Recently, 58-year-old Aunt Li from Changsha felt dizzy as soon as she got up. She staggered as if she was drunk. Her family saw that she was not in a good condition and suggested that she go to the hospital for a check-up. Aunt Li did not care: "I am just too hungry. I will be fine after eating something."

But after breakfast, the dizziness and unsteady gait did not improve, so Aunt Li had no choice but to go to Changsha Third Hospital.

During the physical examination, the neurologist who received the patient found that when Aunt Li closed her eyes and stretched her hands forward, her whole body was shaky and her gait and posture were unstable. Combined with the clues of bilateral frontal lobe lacunar infarction on the head CT scan, Aunt Li was diagnosed with cerebral infarction.

Stroke occurs rapidly and progresses rapidly, which can lead to serious consequences such as limb paralysis. The doctor admitted Aunt Li to the hospital urgently and immediately gave her medication to control blood pressure, inhibit platelet aggregation, protect the brain and improve microcirculation.

In less than a week, Aunt Li's condition stabilized. She no longer felt dizzy and no longer staggered when walking.

"Fortunately, I came to the hospital for a check-up in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. Now I am fine, and I can go square dancing again after being discharged from the hospital!" Aunt Li said with a smile before being discharged.

But 69-year-old Grandma He was not so lucky. On October 28, Grandma He felt a little dizzy, her speech was not clear, and her right hand was not stable when she was eating with chopsticks.

She had always been in good health, but she thought she was too tired from cleaning the house recently, so she didn't take it seriously and just lay down at home to rest for a day. However, the situation did not improve as she expected. Today, she still felt dizzy and had tremors, and even had difficulty swallowing food. Her family took her to Changsha Third Hospital for treatment. After completing the relevant examinations, she was diagnosed with brain stem infarction.

Brainstem infarction is a blockage of the vertebral basilar artery, which can cause dizziness, nausea and vomiting, swallowing disorders and even respiratory and cardiac arrest. However, if thrombolytic therapy is performed within 4.5 hours of onset, the blocked cerebral blood vessels can be opened and blood flow to the brain tissue can be restored, and the patient's prognosis will be greatly improved.

But Grandma He delayed for a day before seeing a doctor, and had missed the best treatment window. The doctor regretfully told Grandma He that she might suffer from sequelae such as dizziness, coughing when drinking water, and difficulty swallowing.

"If I had come to the hospital as soon as I got sick yesterday..." Grandma He regretted it very much.

Stroke has the characteristics of "five highs" including high morbidity, high disability, high mortality, high recurrence rate and high economic burden. It has an acute onset, rapid progression and serious consequences. However, if stroke symptoms can be identified early and patients are promptly sent to a (comprehensive) stroke center hospital with the ability to treat stroke patients within 4.5 hours of onset and receive standardized vascular opening treatment, most patients can recover significantly or even completely, and a healthy and good quality of life will be saved.

October 29 is the 16th "World Stroke Day". This year's theme is "Beware of stroke symptoms, identify and treat as early as possible". Ding Ling reminded: Time is brain! Citizens should remember the "BE FAST formula", which is simple and effective to identify the early symptoms of stroke.

B-BALANCE Difficult to balance

E-EYES Can't see clearly

F-FACE

A-ARMS Uneven arms

S-SPEECH is not working

T-TIME calls 120 immediately!

The first five letters of the "BE FAST formula" each represent an early symptom, and the last letter is a reminder that once you find any symptoms of stroke, you should call the emergency number and seek medical attention immediately.

(Source: Rednet, Medical Messenger)