In the U.S. there are more than 795,000 stroke victims a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means someone has a stroke every 40 seconds. May is Stroke Awareness month. Fond du Lac St. Agnes Hospital neurology nurse practioner, Renae Patrick, says her message is that when someone is having a stroke “Time is brain. “It’s really important if someone is having stroke-like symptoms that they use EMS services to get to the emergency department, and not necessarily wait for family to take them,” Patrick said. St. Agnes Hospital stroke coordinator Stacey Sesing says there are risk factors that increase your risk for stroke, such as smoking for example, and having high blood pressure. The good news is that today’s stroke-related death rates are far lower than they were in the past. Effective treatment can aid in reducing the risk of disabilities from strokes.
