STROKE: Words of wisdom

Thanks to Sholeh Patrick for her valuable article on knowing the signs of a stroke. I especially appreciate the sentence on symptoms in women.

It was such an article I read 20 years ago, about women’s symptoms of a heart attack, that helped me recognize a friend’s symptoms. She was with a group of us at dinner and suddenly became extremely nauseous. I insisted we call 911 and did so. She was certain her sudden nausea was from food she (as well as the rest of us) had eaten. When paramedics arrived they had to use a defibrillator on her and said she was minutes away from being a fatality. Back then, defibrillators were only used by medical professionals. A week later, her sibling died from cardiac arrest.

CINDY MATTHEWS

Post Falls