Stroke of luck

Writers are told to write what they know. Recently I became very familiar with a medical condition known as stroke. Well, in fact I had a stroke. As bad as that may sound, by some amazing stroke of luck I seem to have zero side effects.

So why am I writing about this? The reason is that stroke is one of those events in life that no one expects, and everyone should know more about it.

The results of this brain attack can be catastrophic for victims and their families. But a stroke can be so subtle that the affected individual does not realize it is happening until it is too late to prevent permanent or long-lasting damage. So maybe what I write today will save someone’s life some other day.

Five weeks ago I had a pain in my right eye, which I associated with not using computer glasses and perhaps sitting too close to the screen. The next evening this slight discomfort moved to a pretty noticeable pain (a five on a scale of 10) in my right temple. Again, I didn't think much about it, except that it perhaps related to the eye pain the day before.

When I got up in the middle of the night to let our dog out, I almost fell over from dizziness. Now that was a surprise. I let her out and took two aspirin. A couple hours later the dog wanted out again, and once again I was dizzy and took two more aspirin. I’m not certain, but I may have taken more aspirin around 6 a.m.

The dizziness was still with me in the morning but not as bad. But when I told a doctor friend the next morning, he said to go straight to my doctor or an emergency room. My own doctor at about 10 a.m. referred me directly to Mercy Hospital ER right across the street with a prescriptive referral. I did not know it at the time, but Mercy Hospital has a facility with vast experience in this area and has a unit that specializes in treatment of brain injuries.

By 11, I was in a hospital gown being given an electrocardiogram and tests for reactions, vision and facial reactions, such as smiling, frowning and a test to see if I could hold my hands or feet out parallel with my eyes closed.

The nurses and doctors were very nice, and because I had no apparent symptoms (the dizziness had lessened, and the headache was subsiding) they did not seem worried about anything but said I would be given an MRI or MRA. Throughout the day they continually checked for problems with vision, movement, feeling, reflexes, understanding and speaking. Doctors and nurses apparently always repeat these physical exams every few hours to see if the stroke is getting worse.

One of the nurses told me that many people with the symptoms I encountered would not have come to the ER. They just tough it out hoping the pain and dizziness would soon pass.

They continued to do blood tests, EKGs and blood pressure tests every hour or so. The MRI/MRA was at about 4 p.m., and after review a very nice doctor informed me that I had a stroke. Yikes! She also said I would spend the night and they would determine what to do the next morning.

The next morning I felt fine, despite being awoken every two hours for blood pressure tests and a very early EKG. The doctor came in and again explained I had had a minor stroke and told me that she would give me a prescription for Lipitor and aspirin but was cutting out the minor amount of blood pressure medication I had been taking for many years. When I asked why, she explained that the brain autoregulates blood pressure and that they wanted to keep it relatively high for six weeks or so to force blood into the related area.

One thing I was curious about is why I had no apparent side effects. She didn’t know either, but apparently some folks are lucky. I asked about taking as many as six aspirin within six hours, and she told me that was a bad idea.

Frankly I am not so sure about that, at least in my specific case. It seemed to me that if you increase the blood flow with aspirin, it has to help get blood to the area. But I do know that there are two different kinds of stroke. Both result in a loss of blood to parts of the brain. The first kind is the blockage stroke. And the second is the more insidious bleeding-type stroke. Perhaps I just lucked out by accidentally treating a blockage stroke with aspirin.

High blood pressure is the No. 1 risk factor for strokes. Other major risk factors are family history of stroke, high cholesterol and increasing age, especially over age 55. In my case, I do have slightly high blood pressure and am over age 55, and my father had a stroke some years ago. But I am not overweight, I exercise regularly, do not take illegal drugs or smoke. I had not been regularly taking small doses of aspirin incidentally.

So again, the reason I am writing this is to let the reader know a few things. First, know the symptoms, which are: dizziness, headache, pain in the arms, drooping facial features, confusion, and difficulty speaking or forming thoughts.

One thing to remember is that it can take several hours for full development of stroke symptoms and effects. My father had the same type of stroke I did several years ago, and at least eight hours passed before my mother got him into a car and drove him to an emergency room. He never fully recovered.

If you or someone else is having the symptoms, call 911 or go directly to the nearest hospital emergency room. Time is of the essence. Statistics show that if affected individuals get to a hospital within three to four hours and are given a drug called Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), they likely will have minimal side effects.

I was lucky this time. Hopefully it won’t happen again, but I am aware of the possibility of reoccurrence and will take those aspirin.

For more information, visit strokeassociation.org.

Carrico is a San Diego attorney and can be emailed at roncarrico@hotmail.com. Comments may be published as Letters to the Editor.