Today is World Stroke Day, set aside to create awareness about the severity and occurrence of strokes. Other objectives are to spread information about prevention of the condition as well as exhibit support for stroke survivors.
African Americans are more impacted by stroke than any other racial group in America. African Americans are prone to get strokes earlier in life, are more likely to become disabled and experience more complications with day-to-day living after suffering from a stroke.
Some factors that contribute to the alarming number of blacks getting strokes are high blood pressure, sickle cell anemia, obesity, diabetes and smoking, as explained by the National Stroke Association.
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Some signs of stroke are blatantly obvious such as a sudden loss of ability to speak or move or a portion of the face suddenly drooping, nevertheless, there are some indicators that we may sweep under the rug as unimportant but are in fact detrimental.
It is also important to note that there are unique types of stroke to include an ischaemic (clot) stroke which happens when an artery carrying blood to part of the brain is blocked. A haemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel ruptures within the brain or into the space surrounding the brain, as iterated by Brain Foundation.
Here are five not so obvious signs of stroke and how blacks may be silently impacted:
