Did you know that every 40 seconds someone suffers from a stroke? The good news is that 80 percent of strokes are preventable.
Here to talk about how you can prevent a stroke is Judy Peck. She is a physical therapist assistant, and has been working in the area of neurology and stroke rehab for 20 years at Meritus Health Total Rehab Care.
Selected Podcast
Stroke Prevention and The Latest Advances in Care
Featured Speaker:
Judy Peck, PTA
Judy Peck is a physical therapist assistant, she has been working in the area of neurology and stroke rehab for 20 years a Meritus Health Total Rehab Care. She has an associate degree from Penn State Mont Alto Campus, graduating in 1997. She has obtained certifications as certified brain injury specialist, Cancer Rehab specialist, certified to fit and train patients with Bioness neuroprosthetic devices. She has presented many educational seminars with topics ranging from Aquatic therapy and traumatic brain injury, wellness and exercises for the Arthritic patient, spinal cord injury and improved mobility and topics on stroke recovery. She has published articles in ADVANCE therapy magazine on the use of functional electrical stimulation and stroke recovery. Transcription:
Stroke Prevention and The Latest Advances in Care
Melanie Cole: Did you know that every 40 seconds, someone suffers a stroke? The good news is that 80% of strokes can be prevented. My guest today is Judy Peck. She’s a physical therapist assistant and has been working in the area of neurology and stroke rehab for 20 years at Meritus Health Total Rehab Care. Welcome to the show. What are some of the risk factors for stroke that we can control?
Judy Peck, PTA: That's a great question because often times, people aren't aware of the things that they really can control until after they've had a stroke. The first being high blood pressure. Most of our community is not even aware of what their blood pressure, so knowing your blood pressure. Smoking is another risk factor that we can control. Also, diabetes, diet, and exercises are key factors with this diagnosis. Our diet and obesity, maintaining a healthy weight and to know for your age what a healthy weight looks like. Physical activity, being active and we're going to talk a little bit about that today too. High cholesterol can cause plaque to build up and can cause clogs, so knowing your cholesterol, and heart disease. Again, we're going to talk about physical exercise and some activities that you can do that can help to control one of the leading causes of stroke.
Melanie: Let's talk about exercise then. How can exercise help decrease some of these risk factors that you’ve mentioned?
Judy: Physical inactivity can cause all of these risk factors, such as heart disease, becoming overweight, developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol and diabetes, is really the main focus of that. How do you take yourself from being physically inactive to starting an exercise program? The American Heart and Stroke Association recommends physical activity for 30 minutes daily in order to help to improve those numbers. What does 30 minutes of exercise look like if you haven't been active? We recommend just taking a brisk walk, walking around the block, and then building from that, trying to increase your time and working up to that 30 minutes of activity each day. Our routine is key when you're talking about being physically active. Try to build your exercise program at the same time each day so that it becomes a habit. If you miss one day of exercise, don't quit. Keep going. Just move onto the next day and add it in, or pick up the phone and call a friend. We often are creatures of habit and having somebody join in our exercise program is very helpful and it helps us to stay accountable. Try something new. If you've already been walking and you want to try a new activity, picking up things like biking, hiking, swimming, some light weight training, all of those activities will be very helpful in order to help to reduce your risk factor. You don't need to join a gym or go somewhere to do a lot of the activities that will significantly reduce your risk factors. Physical exercise can help to lower your blood pressure, it can help to prevent diabetes, it also helps to maintain a healthy weight and decrease your cholesterol. Those are all key risk factors for preventing a stroke.
Melanie: What about signs and symptoms of a stroke? People hear time is brain and how important it is to recognize possible symptoms so that you can get help if this is something that’s happening. Speak about the symptoms.
Judy: The American Heart Association uses the acronym FAST. We're going to talk about that first. The first mnemonic of that is F, which stands for FACE. If you notice any facial drooping where one side of the face droops or you can ask somebody to smile if you think something might be going on and it's much more pronounced than when you ask them to smile. The second part of that is A, which stands for ARMS. One arm is weaker, sometimes you can start to notice some numbness and tingling in your arm, you can ask the person or yourself to try to raise your arms over your head and notice that you're not able to do that. The S stands for SPEECH. Does it seem that your speech is slurred or sounds unusual? You might have a hard time saying a word. Often times, asking someone that you're noticing to have that sign or symptoms to just repeating a common phrase like ‘how are you,' ‘tell me your name,' and see if they're able to repeat that, but often is a very common symptom. T is TIME. If any of the signs that we've just talked about are present, you need to immediately call 911. It's so important.
In today’s world, often people think this can't be happening to me, it’s just a little bit of weakness, I must have done something to my arm, there's a little bit of numbness, I slurred my speech, my face feels tingling and numb – these are very significant signs and symptoms of a stroke. Acting fast is what will help you. Call 911 and immediately get to the hospital. There are lots of protocols now for medications and things that we won't get into, but the sooner that you can get to the hospital, the better outcome you will have after your stroke. Another part of that acronym in some instances and publications is also BEFAST, and that stands for BALANCE, unsteady walking and dizziness. Those are often signs and symptoms as well. The E of that is EYES or vision changes. Things just don’t seem clear or it seems fuzzy. Some of our patients have just one of those symptoms – they notice some facial droop and that’s all the symptoms that they have to start with – they call 911, get to the hospital, and when they get to the hospital, they’ve developed arm weakness and leg weakness and not able to walk. The signs and symptoms of BEFAST, notice any of those symptoms going on, immediately you need to call 911 and get to your local hospital.
Melanie: How does seeing your doctor on a regular basis and getting your well checkups help prevent a stroke?
Judy: The number one risk factor of having a stroke is high blood pressure. Often times, our patients are not aware of what their blood pressure number is because they have not seen their doctor on a regular basis. If you don't go to the doctor to get your well checkups, you have no idea what your blood pressure and what some of the risk factors that you can control. Seeing your doctor, allowing them to monitor your blood pressure and being aware that you have high blood pressure, there are things that you can do to change that. We've talked about the physical activity, those things that you're able to do to modify your diet and exercise, but also there are medications that help to control your blood pressure and your doctor would be the one to monitor that and prescribe that. Not only seeing your doctor for a regular health visit but also checking your blood pressure on a regular basis. If you are in the high-risk factor for blood pressure, getting a monitor at home, they sell simple wrist blood pressure monitors that are very easy to use at home, but there are also public places that you're able to have your blood pressure taken at your local Walgreen’s, CVS, often medical facilities – I know Meritus Medical Center has one at the Robin Wood location – so there are often places where you can get your blood pressure taken. If you are monitoring your blood pressure, we recommend that you do it the same time every day and keep a log of that because then you can take that to your family doctor when you go for your family doctor visit and wellness checkup – you can take your log of what your blood pressure is. Remember, it's the number one risk factor for having a stroke. See your doctor on an annual basis, get your blood pressure checked, get your well visit check and know what your numbers are.
Melanie: Wrap it up for us with your best advice and what you want people to know about your team at Meritus Health Total Rehab Care and best advice about possibly preventing a stroke.
Judy: My best advice is to see your doctor, number one. Know your numbers and get active. A lot of the things we've talked about today is physical activity, it really will help you to be able to decrease those risk factors. If you know that you're at risk for having a stroke, you need to, number one, be aware of that, and let your doctor help you manage that. Also, a risk factor for having a stroke is that you've already had one. Being in contact with your doctor and then if you have had a stroke, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy – they're all services that are available at Total Rehab Care. We're an outpatient center, we have an interdisciplinary team; that means all of the therapists work together in order to provide the best possible care for you. Stroke care is key to having the best care immediately after having your stroke. If you have signs and symptoms of a stroke, call 911, get to your local hospital and then from there, you're going to be referred for therapy. Attending therapy, doing repetitious exercise with highly trained therapists, our team at Meritus Health at Total Rehab Care has years of experience in helping patients with stroke recovery. It's just knowing what to do in order to help yourself to be able to redeem your mobility, your activity, your strength in order to return to your life before the stroke.
Melanie: Thank you so much. It’s really great information and so important for people to hear. You're listening to Your Health Matters with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit meritushealth.com. That’s meritushealth.com. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Stroke Prevention and The Latest Advances in Care
Melanie Cole: Did you know that every 40 seconds, someone suffers a stroke? The good news is that 80% of strokes can be prevented. My guest today is Judy Peck. She’s a physical therapist assistant and has been working in the area of neurology and stroke rehab for 20 years at Meritus Health Total Rehab Care. Welcome to the show. What are some of the risk factors for stroke that we can control?
Judy Peck, PTA: That's a great question because often times, people aren't aware of the things that they really can control until after they've had a stroke. The first being high blood pressure. Most of our community is not even aware of what their blood pressure, so knowing your blood pressure. Smoking is another risk factor that we can control. Also, diabetes, diet, and exercises are key factors with this diagnosis. Our diet and obesity, maintaining a healthy weight and to know for your age what a healthy weight looks like. Physical activity, being active and we're going to talk a little bit about that today too. High cholesterol can cause plaque to build up and can cause clogs, so knowing your cholesterol, and heart disease. Again, we're going to talk about physical exercise and some activities that you can do that can help to control one of the leading causes of stroke.
Melanie: Let's talk about exercise then. How can exercise help decrease some of these risk factors that you’ve mentioned?
Judy: Physical inactivity can cause all of these risk factors, such as heart disease, becoming overweight, developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol and diabetes, is really the main focus of that. How do you take yourself from being physically inactive to starting an exercise program? The American Heart and Stroke Association recommends physical activity for 30 minutes daily in order to help to improve those numbers. What does 30 minutes of exercise look like if you haven't been active? We recommend just taking a brisk walk, walking around the block, and then building from that, trying to increase your time and working up to that 30 minutes of activity each day. Our routine is key when you're talking about being physically active. Try to build your exercise program at the same time each day so that it becomes a habit. If you miss one day of exercise, don't quit. Keep going. Just move onto the next day and add it in, or pick up the phone and call a friend. We often are creatures of habit and having somebody join in our exercise program is very helpful and it helps us to stay accountable. Try something new. If you've already been walking and you want to try a new activity, picking up things like biking, hiking, swimming, some light weight training, all of those activities will be very helpful in order to help to reduce your risk factor. You don't need to join a gym or go somewhere to do a lot of the activities that will significantly reduce your risk factors. Physical exercise can help to lower your blood pressure, it can help to prevent diabetes, it also helps to maintain a healthy weight and decrease your cholesterol. Those are all key risk factors for preventing a stroke.
Melanie: What about signs and symptoms of a stroke? People hear time is brain and how important it is to recognize possible symptoms so that you can get help if this is something that’s happening. Speak about the symptoms.
Judy: The American Heart Association uses the acronym FAST. We're going to talk about that first. The first mnemonic of that is F, which stands for FACE. If you notice any facial drooping where one side of the face droops or you can ask somebody to smile if you think something might be going on and it's much more pronounced than when you ask them to smile. The second part of that is A, which stands for ARMS. One arm is weaker, sometimes you can start to notice some numbness and tingling in your arm, you can ask the person or yourself to try to raise your arms over your head and notice that you're not able to do that. The S stands for SPEECH. Does it seem that your speech is slurred or sounds unusual? You might have a hard time saying a word. Often times, asking someone that you're noticing to have that sign or symptoms to just repeating a common phrase like ‘how are you,' ‘tell me your name,' and see if they're able to repeat that, but often is a very common symptom. T is TIME. If any of the signs that we've just talked about are present, you need to immediately call 911. It's so important.
In today’s world, often people think this can't be happening to me, it’s just a little bit of weakness, I must have done something to my arm, there's a little bit of numbness, I slurred my speech, my face feels tingling and numb – these are very significant signs and symptoms of a stroke. Acting fast is what will help you. Call 911 and immediately get to the hospital. There are lots of protocols now for medications and things that we won't get into, but the sooner that you can get to the hospital, the better outcome you will have after your stroke. Another part of that acronym in some instances and publications is also BEFAST, and that stands for BALANCE, unsteady walking and dizziness. Those are often signs and symptoms as well. The E of that is EYES or vision changes. Things just don’t seem clear or it seems fuzzy. Some of our patients have just one of those symptoms – they notice some facial droop and that’s all the symptoms that they have to start with – they call 911, get to the hospital, and when they get to the hospital, they’ve developed arm weakness and leg weakness and not able to walk. The signs and symptoms of BEFAST, notice any of those symptoms going on, immediately you need to call 911 and get to your local hospital.
Melanie: How does seeing your doctor on a regular basis and getting your well checkups help prevent a stroke?
Judy: The number one risk factor of having a stroke is high blood pressure. Often times, our patients are not aware of what their blood pressure number is because they have not seen their doctor on a regular basis. If you don't go to the doctor to get your well checkups, you have no idea what your blood pressure and what some of the risk factors that you can control. Seeing your doctor, allowing them to monitor your blood pressure and being aware that you have high blood pressure, there are things that you can do to change that. We've talked about the physical activity, those things that you're able to do to modify your diet and exercise, but also there are medications that help to control your blood pressure and your doctor would be the one to monitor that and prescribe that. Not only seeing your doctor for a regular health visit but also checking your blood pressure on a regular basis. If you are in the high-risk factor for blood pressure, getting a monitor at home, they sell simple wrist blood pressure monitors that are very easy to use at home, but there are also public places that you're able to have your blood pressure taken at your local Walgreen’s, CVS, often medical facilities – I know Meritus Medical Center has one at the Robin Wood location – so there are often places where you can get your blood pressure taken. If you are monitoring your blood pressure, we recommend that you do it the same time every day and keep a log of that because then you can take that to your family doctor when you go for your family doctor visit and wellness checkup – you can take your log of what your blood pressure is. Remember, it's the number one risk factor for having a stroke. See your doctor on an annual basis, get your blood pressure checked, get your well visit check and know what your numbers are.
Melanie: Wrap it up for us with your best advice and what you want people to know about your team at Meritus Health Total Rehab Care and best advice about possibly preventing a stroke.
Judy: My best advice is to see your doctor, number one. Know your numbers and get active. A lot of the things we've talked about today is physical activity, it really will help you to be able to decrease those risk factors. If you know that you're at risk for having a stroke, you need to, number one, be aware of that, and let your doctor help you manage that. Also, a risk factor for having a stroke is that you've already had one. Being in contact with your doctor and then if you have had a stroke, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy – they're all services that are available at Total Rehab Care. We're an outpatient center, we have an interdisciplinary team; that means all of the therapists work together in order to provide the best possible care for you. Stroke care is key to having the best care immediately after having your stroke. If you have signs and symptoms of a stroke, call 911, get to your local hospital and then from there, you're going to be referred for therapy. Attending therapy, doing repetitious exercise with highly trained therapists, our team at Meritus Health at Total Rehab Care has years of experience in helping patients with stroke recovery. It's just knowing what to do in order to help yourself to be able to redeem your mobility, your activity, your strength in order to return to your life before the stroke.
Melanie: Thank you so much. It’s really great information and so important for people to hear. You're listening to Your Health Matters with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit meritushealth.com. That’s meritushealth.com. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.