How to spot the signs of a mini-stroke
Although strokes are more likely as you grow older, they can happen at any age – as former Coronation Street actor Chris Fountain recently discovered.
The 35-year-old soap star, who played Tommy Duckworth in Corrie, recently had a mini-stroke (also known as a transient ischaemic attack or TIA). In an Instagram post he wrote: “After waking up unable to speak properly or read aloud, I went to hospital with a suspected mini stroke…”
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Hide AdTests revealed the actor had a hole in his heart, which had caused the blood clot to travel to his brain, triggering the stroke.
Alexis Kolodziej, an executive director at the Stroke Association (stroke.org.uk), explains while most people who have a stroke are older, younger people can have them too, including children. Around 400 children have a stroke in the UK every year, and one in four strokes happen to people of working age.
“There’s no way to know whether you’re having a full stroke or a mini-stroke, and if you get any symptoms ideally you should call 999, as you normally need to get urgent treatment,” advises Kolodziej.
Kolodziej explains that TIA, which is what Fountain suffered, is the same as a stroke, except the symptoms only last for a short time. However, it’s a warning that you’re at risk of having another stroke, with the risk greatest in the first days and weeks after the TIA, and Kolodziej stresses it’s important to find out what caused it.
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Hide Ad“You can get on top of any key risk factors like high blood pressure, or as in Chris’s case, a hole in the heart, and receive treatment to reduce the risk of you going on to have a full stroke,” she explains.
Kolodziej says the FAST test can help you recognise the most common signs of a stroke, including…
Facial weakness
Can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped? “If you have sudden facial weakness – maybe your face drooping on one side – it’s a common sign,” says Kolodziej.
Arm weakness
According to Kolodziej, this may be someone not being able to raise both arms and keep them there.
Speech problems
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Hide AdCan the person speak clearly and understand what you say? Kolodziej says: “If slurred or disordered speech suddenly comes on, or as in Chris’s example, you wake up and it’s there, you should be calling 999 because it’s a key risk factor and it’s definitely not worth waiting to see if it resolves itself.”
Time to call 999
If you see any of the three signs, you should ring 999 immediately. “Treatment needs to be delivered within four to five hours,” stresses Kolodziej.
In addition to the FAST symptoms, other possible signs of a stroke include..sudden blurred vision or loss of sight, sudden memory loss or confusion, weakness or numbess, dizziness or a sudden fall and a sudden severe headache.