HHS HealthBeat (August 3, 2007)

Whispering stroke

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Not worth acting on? Some people seem to think so. They have stroke symptoms – maybe some weakness or numbness on one side, or suddenly it’s hard to speak or to understand someone. But they don’t get medical help.

George Howard of the University of Alabama, Birmingham calls these ``whispering’’ strokes. He looked at how they affected people’s lives. The study in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Howard says the physical decline was substantial, and the drop in mental functioning only somewhat less so.

``They were half as large as the declines that we saw in association with people reporting having had a stroke. And so these were – quote – ‘half a stroke’ – close quote.’’ (9 seconds)

Howard says the best response to stroke symptoms is to get treatment fast.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011