Baptist Health provides health screenings at community event
May is stroke awareness month.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla — May is stroke awareness month and the American Heart Association and Baptist Health joined a community event at Vista Landing to provide health screenings Saturday.
“Strokes are the number four killer and a lot of people don’t realize that and something important with strokes is to spot symptoms really quickly. So we’re educating the community on stroke symptoms,” said executive director for the first coast American heart association, Amber Wilson.
Wilson says they’re teaching the community an important acronym called FAST.
“Face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech, and time to call 911. Again those things in order are going to be the difference between life or death for community members,” said Wilson.
Nima Aghaebrahim, a physician from Baptist Health says they are screening for common risk of strokes. Such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
“A stroke can happy to anybody at any age but especially people who have certain risk factors like cardiovascular risk factors but strokes can be preventable,” said Aghaebrahim.
Aghaebrahim says there is a treatment for strokes so seeking out the symptoms earlier will benefit you in the long run.
“Some of the stroke symptoms can actually go away and be reversed. otherwise a stroke can cause people to not speak or can’t walk anymore, or can’t use their arms for example,” said Aghaebrahim.
Wilson says if you get anything from stroke month, it should be to educate yourself on the symptoms.