Photo via Brookwood Baptist Health

May is American Stroke Awareness Month. We sat down (virtually, of course) with one of the top stroke experts in the state to share what Birmingham residents need to know when it comes to stroke symptoms, treatment and care. Learn all about it here!

I grew up learning to share the worst parts first when youre telling a story. The fact is, most of us probably know someone whos been affected by a stroke. Theyre hugely common in the United States. In fact, its the fifth leading cause of death for Americans.

Here are a few statistics about stroke in the US from the CDC, updated in January 2020:

Sure, the numbers can be a bit frightening. However, its good to be aware of the risk and how serious strokes are. When you know whats at stake, youre much less likely to attempt waiting it out or driving yourself to the hospitalneither of which are great ideas when it comes to a stroke.

Jitendra Sharma, M.D., is an interventional neurologist at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center. He earned his medical degree at M.G.M. Medical College in India and completed fellowships in Serono Research, Vascular Neurology and Neurointervention.

Dr. Sharma specializes in Interventional Neurology, and hes one of only five physicians in the state of Alabama to do so.

Interventional neurology is an emerging field. What we do is we go inside the blood vessel and we try to help patients who have blood clots in the brain

As interventional neurologists, we can take care of stroke intervention, which means pulling the blood clot out. We also take care of brain aneurysms and close them off

Even carotid artery disease, we can insert a stent. So thats what the umbrella of interventional neurology covers.

These procedures are very new to the field, and patients have shown significant improvements immediately after surgery. The methods are also much less invasive than traditional brain surgeries.

Dr. Sharma currently practices within the Brookwood Baptist Health Primary & Specialty Care Network.

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center is a Certified Primary Stroke Center. This essentially means youre getting the best of the best when it comes to stroke care. Theyre prepared 24 hours a day + seven days a week to treat these urgent medical emergencies.

For the past 3 years, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have also granted Brookwood Baptist Medical Center the highest level of recognition for stroke care it awards. This establishes both their quality and speed of care as the true gold standard in Alabama and beyond.

When it comes to strokes, the key is to BE FAST. Strokes are considered one of the most urgent medical emergencies, which means seconds matter. The faster a patient gets to the hospital and receives treatment, the better their chance of recovery.

Knowing and recognizing the symptoms of a stroke can be the difference in survival and/or lasting damage in you or someone you love. BE FAST isnt just important to remember in your reaction timeits also important when you see symptoms.

We cant say it enough: time + treatment are CRITICAL in stroke situations. So lets talk about emergencies during a pandemic. Apprehension about going to a hospital right now is understandable, and you should always take precautions.

However, the risk of an untreated stroke statistically outweighs the risk of a virus. If youre experiencing symptoms or are around someone who is, call 911 immediately. Dont wait it out home, dont hop in your car and mosey on down to your local urgent care.

Once the blood flow to the brain is stopped, every minute, millions of brain cells die We see sometimes in the community that people want to stay homethey think it will go away.

Instead, it just gets worse and worse, and then they come to the hospital, and then its too late for us to help them.

After learning from Dr. Sharma, I realized some of my ideas about strokes were incorrect. I always believed that as a twenty-something, I was basically immune. Turns out, people as young as 24 years old can fall victim.

What we are seeing nowadays is patients who are young are having more strokes. Risk factors such as diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesityall these risk factors play a role in having a stroke.

We are seeing more and more patients who are 40 or 50 coming to us with stroke-like symptoms.

So, now that you know the symptoms + how to respond, weve reached the most important question (at least in my opinion). How can you prevent a stroke? Of course, theres no foolproof method, but there are ways you can be proactive. Heres what Dr. Sharma recommends:

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It's Stroke Month, and this advice from a Birmingham expert can save lives - Bham Now