Stroke Awareness Foundation Blog

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, but does not affect intelligence.  Many people who survived a stroke or traumatic brain injury suffer from Aphasia. Aphasia is caused by damage to one or more of the language areas of the brain. Many times, the cause of the brain injury is a stroke. A stroke occurs when, for some reason, blood is unable to reach a part of the brain. Brain cells die when they do not receive their normal supply of blood, which carries oxygen and important nutrients. Other causes of brain injury are severe blows to the head, brain tumors, brain infections, and other conditions of the brain.

Aphasia is a communication disorder that affects language comprehension and production.  This can impact a person’s ability to talk, read, write, listen and follow instructions.  Symptoms of Aphasia vary depending on the site and severity of the brain damage.  The most common symptoms for people with Aphasia will be difficulty retrieving words, and unintentional word substitutions. 

In-depth testing of the language ability of individuals with the various aphasic syndromes is helping to design effective treatment strategies. The use of computers in aphasia treatment is being studied. Promising new drugs administered shortly after some types of stroke are being investigated as ways to reduce the severity of aphasia.

The consequences of a stroke depend on how severe the stroke was and what parts of the brain it affected. Many people who suffer a stroke recover all or most of their ability to function in daily life. Others are physically and mentally devastated and unable to move, speak or eat normally. While dead brain tissue cannot be restored, intensive rehabilitation can help many people learn to overcome disability by training other parts of the brain to do what the damaged part originally did. In the United States more than 700,000 people suffer a stroke each year, and approximately two-thirds of these individuals survive and require rehabilitation. The goals of rehabilitation are to help survivors become as independent as possible and to attain the best possible quality of life. Even though rehabilitation does not “cure” stroke in that it does not reverse brain damage, rehabilitation can substantially help people achieve the best possible long-term outcome.

More than any other stroke organization, The SAF is dedicated to Better Outcomes.

This means not only educating the public about stroke through the web site, presence at health fairs and work with community centers, but just as importantly, partnereing with hospitals to help them  become Certified Stroke Centers and then working with emergency medical transportation to insure victims are directed to a Certified Stroke Center.

This focused coordination of education, certification and redirection is the essence of accomplishing the goal of Better Outcomes. Reflecting on his experience, a friend of mine who recently suffered a stroke in Canada said, “If this had to happen, I wish I had been in Santa Clara County when it did.”

It takes not just the effort from dedicated volunteers to keep us moving ahead, but money.  Please support us with any amount you can.  It will have an impact on the lives of many.

Vince DeCarolis, SAF Board Member

Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA)  is a medication that dissolves blood clots.  tPA was approved by the FDA in 1996 to treat ischemic type strokes.  About 8 out of 10 strokes are ischemic.  tPA was approved to treat strokes in the first three hours following the onset of symptoms.  If given promptly, 1 in 3 patients who receive tPA resolve their symptoms or have major improvement in their stroke symptoms.  A recent large study showed that tPA remained beneficial even when it was given between 3 and 4.5 hours; in that study, 1 in 14 patients who received tPA resolved their symptoms fully.   Unfortunately not everyone should receive tPA therapy.  Persons who cannot be treated within 4.5 hours of their first symptom, patients with certain medical conditions, and patients with certain types of strokes will not qualify for this treatment.

Because stroke victims rarely call 911, the only way to have them reach the emergency room quickly is to educate the ENTIRE population about the warning symptoms of stroke and the need to call 911.

The Stroke Awareness Foundation invites you to partner with us.    As a partner, you agree to help educate yourself, your family and friends about the warning symptoms of stroke and of the need to call 911. No more than that, but no less!

Strokes:  Know the Possible Warning Signs

   Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body                        
   Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding   
   Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes         
   Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination                                                            
   Sudden severe headache with no known cause

If you or someone with you has one or more of these signs, don’t delay! Seek emergency medical services by calling 9-1-1.