What Are the Five Signs of Stroke? Topic Guide

A heart attack is an interruption in blood flow to the heart muscle. Arterial plaque rupture is often the cause of a heart attack. Symptoms of a heart attack may include chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and nausea. Emergency heart catheterization and thrombolytic therapy may be used to treat a heart attack.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are heat-related illnesses. Other heat-related illnesses include heat cramps, heat syncope (fainting), and heat rash. Heat stroke is the most severe form of these conditions, and requires immediate medical treatment by calling 911. Heat exhaustion usually occurs when you play or work in a hot, humid environment and you lose fluids through sweat. This causes the body to overheat and become dehydrated. In heat exhaustion, the body temperature may be high, but not above 104 F (40 C), and medical treatment may be necessary. In contrast, heat stroke (also called heatstroke, sunstroke, or sun stroke) is a life-threatening medical emergency. It usually develops from heat exhaustion, and the internal body temperature rises to the point at which brain damage or damage to other internal organs may result (internal body temperature may reach 105 F or greater [40.5 C or greater). Common symptoms and warning signs of these two heat-related illnesses are nausea, skin flushing, headache, dizziness, weakness, thirst, muscle cramps, and rapid heart rate. Heat exhaustion can be treated with treating dehydration at home or through IV at the doctor's office, Urgent Care, or Emergency Department. Heat stroke is a condition that needs to be treated right away. If you think someone you know is suffering from heat stroke call 911 immediately and get medical help. If medical treatment isn't started urgently, the person may die.

Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Heat stroke is caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures while working, exercising, doing strenuous or non-strenuous activity, and certain medications. Symptoms of heat stroke include muscle cramps, profuse sweating, rapid pulse and breathing, dizziness, and headache. If heat stroke is not treated emergently, the prognosis is poor.

Stroke is a medical emergency. When a person has a stroke, part of the blood supply to the brain is cut off or greatly decreased. There are two main types of stroke, ischemic and hemorrhagic. Stroke symptoms include dizziness, sudden headache, weakness in an arm or leg on the same side, weakness in the muscles of the face, difficulty speaking, vision problems, and more. Treatment of stroke depends on the type and severity of the stroke suffered.

Dementia is a blanket term to describe significant cognitive and memory decay that could be caused by a number of different conditions. A stroke is a bleed or blockage in the blood vessels that may starve parts of the brain of oxygen. Thought and memory impairment due to a stroke is called vascular dementia. Medications and behavioral therapy may prevent further strokes and slow cognitive decline, but stroke damage cannot be repaired after more than a few hours after the event.

A transient ischemic attack (TIA), or mini-stroke, is often a warning sign of a future stroke - you should call paramedics right away (dial 911 in the U.S.). Blood clots, occluded arteries and leaking blood vessels caused by high blood pressure may cause TIAs. Symptoms: include neurologic deficits, speech problems, vision problems, and confusion.

A stroke occurs when there is low oxygen or low blood flow to an area of the brain, which may result from a blood clot causing a blockage of blood flow (ischemic stroke), a leak in a blood vessel, or a burst blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). The most common treatment for acute stroke is use of blood thinners. To date there are no approved neuroprotective medications, however, a number of different types of medications are under investigation and in clinical trials.