The headline “A month before a stroke, your body warns you” is misleading. There is no established set of 10 symptoms that reliably appears one month before a stroke. Many strokes happen suddenly, without a predictable month-long warning period. (CDC)
What can happen is a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which produces stroke-like symptoms that may disappear. A TIA is an important warning because it can signal a high risk of a subsequent stroke, particularly soon afterward. (nhs.uk)
🚨 Signs you should never ignore
Watch for sudden:
- Face drooping, especially on one side
- Weakness or numbness in an arm or leg, particularly on one side
- Slurred or difficult speech
- Difficulty understanding speech
- Sudden vision loss or major vision changes
- Loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe dizziness
- Difficulty walking
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
- Sudden confusion
These symptoms can occur during either a stroke or TIA. (international.heart.org)
Remember: BE FAST
B — Balance trouble
E — Eye/vision changes
F — Face drooping
A — Arm weakness
S — Speech difficulty
T — Time to call emergency services
Do not wait to see whether symptoms improve. Even if they disappear, a suspected TIA needs urgent medical assessment. (www.stroke.org)
