Edisi 2/ Triwulan/ Juli - September 2013 - Eka Hospital

NEUROCORNERIdentify Early Signsof Stroke withFASTa rest, even sometimes without any accompanyingsymptoms where you were totally in normal condition.Focal neurologic deficit is characterized by local part ofyour body dysfunction i.e. your face, the way you talk,or your arm and leg. Arm and leg weakness usuallyonly affecting one side of your body, left or rightside, and rarely happens on both side of your bodyat the same time. This kind of dysfunction causedby a local disruption on basal ganglia area whichconsists of motoric neuron pathways that regulateyour muscle movement. Meanwhile global neurologicdeficit caused by disruption on your ARAS (AscendingReticular Activating System), an area of your brainresponsible for your awareness. ARAS disruption canbe a local malfunction or suppression by blood clot/increased intracranial pressure.Dr. Nino Widjayanto, Sp.SDepartemen NeurologiEka Hospital PekanbaruNeurologist diagnoses stroke when a patientexperiencing neurologic deficit that lasts for morethan 24 hours. If the neurologic deficit lasts less then24 hours it is then called a Transient Ischemic Attack(TIA) or minor stroke. TIA should not be ignored as itmight be a risk factor for a stroke in the future.What is stroke?Stroke is a brain dysfunction that occurs suddenly,caused solely by brain vessels damage that may resultin death. Generally stroke characterized by a focal orglobal neurologic deficit, which lasts more than 24hours.In Indonesia, stroke counts 15.4% of total deathcaused by diseases. Approximately 2.5% of strokepatients died, and the rest will have variable degree ofdisabilities.Symptoms of strokeStroke can emerge anytime, anywhere and to anyone,unexpectedly while you are doing activities or havingClinical signs of stroke solely caused by brain vesseldamage, which may be a clot or a rupture, andnot caused by other diseases such as brain tumor,brain infection or peripheral nervous disruption.Hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemiaare some of the factors that may cause brain vesseldamage.Identify early attack signs of stroke with FASTStroke is an emergency in neurology. If it isn’tmanaged properly and immediately, stroke may causesdisability, even death. So how can we easily recognizestroke? This is a frequently asked question in publiccommunity when they hear the word stroke. Relatives| Juli - September 2013 | 24Neuro Corner_English_03.indd 247/17/13 5:20 AM