Stroke Symptoms: Many Young People Would Not Seek Medical Help

Stroke remains a leading cause of death in the United States--affecting more than 140,000 people each year, according to the Internet Stroke Center.

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) found that many individuals under 45 oftentimes ignore stroke symptoms and delay going to the hospital, which could potentially save their life.

During a recent study, researchers asked over a thousand people nationwide what they would likely do within the first three hours of experiencing stroke-related symptoms, including difficulty speaking or seeing, weakness or numbness. Only about one in three said they would be very likely to go to the hospital; 73 percent said they would likely wait to see if symptoms improved.

Ischemic stroke accounts for about 87 percent of all cases--making it the most common type of stroke, according to the American Heart Association. However, what most people don't now is that the sooner an individual seeks medical attention, the lower their risk is for long-term disability or death.

Unfortunately, previous findings also show that there has been up to a 53 percent increase in the number of strokes experienced by Americans between the ages of 15 and 44.

"Timely treatment for stroke is probably more important than for almost any other medical problem there is," said Dr. David Liebeskind, a professor of neurology at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, in a news release. "There is a very limited window in which to start treatment because the brain is very sensitive to a lack of blood flow or to bleeding, and the longer patients wait, the more devastating the consequences."

It's also a good idea to remember the life-saving acronym F.A.S.T., which stands for the following: "Face drooping, Arm weakness, or Speech difficulty -- it's Time to call 911."

"Believe it or not, it's on the order of minutes or hours when somebody has to seek medical attention," Liebeskind said. "There simply is no time to wait. It's a message that we clearly need to get to younger people more effectively."

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