Marla Ahlgrimm: Stroke Symptoms Worth Your Attention

Approximately 100,000 women between the ages of 20 and 65 will have a stroke this year, says Marla Ahlgrimm. And when it comes to stroke, seconds count. Don’t ignore these three symptoms.

1. Numbness on one side of the body

A stroke affects the brain and can change your neurologic function, says Marla Ahlgrimm. Suddenly feeling numb or weak on one side of the body is a serious red flag that should sen ou flying to the ER. Each side of your brain is responsible for controlling the opposite side of your body. This means if your right arm goes limp, you likely have bleeding on the left side of your brain. Similarly, poor coordination and/or dizziness that’s not from another identifiable source (low blood sugar, head injury) should be brought to your doctor’s attention as soon as it happens.

2. Difficulty reading

If you have a stroke on the left side of your brain, there is a good chance that you will experience temporary aphasia, which is a neurologic inability to speak or understand speech. Marla Ahlgrimm reports that this could be severe and result in garbled speech; aphasia can also be mild leaving you feeling as though you simply can’t think of the right word. In addition to difficulty reading, you may also have trouble speaking. Marla Ahlgrimm asserts that a stroke can affect the muscles required to form words and may also impair your brain’s vocabulary processing ability.

3. Headaches

While the occasional headache is nothing to worry about and many people suffer with migraines with no adverse, long-term side effects, a sudden headache that impacts your ability to function might be a problem. Marla Ahlgrimm explains that an extreme, sudden headaches can be caused by hemorrhagic strokes, a condition that occurs when the brain bleeds into itself.