How to recognize a stroke

Would you recognize a stroke if you were having one?

Strokes vary in their severity and duration. Sometimes early signs and symptoms can be ignored or mistaken for something else.

Learn these common signs and symptoms of strokes so that you act quickly if you experience them:

• Numbness, weakness or paralysis on one side of your face or body
• Difficulty speaking or trouble understanding others
• Blurred, decreased or double vision
• Dizziness, trouble walking, or loss of balance or coordination
• A sudden, severe headache — sometimes called a thunderclap or "bolt out of the blue"
• An unusual headache, which may be accompanied by vomiting, dizziness or altered consciousness

If you have any of these symptoms, don't wait for them to go away. Seek immediate medical care.