1. Call 911 for Emergency Medical Assistance
If you witness a friend or family member with stroke symptoms, it's a medical emergency. Call 911 immediately, and inform the dispatcher that you're calling about a potential stroke victim. If you have time, call ahead to the closest hospital emergency department. If the staff members are aware that a stroke victim is on his way, they can prepare by calling appropriate personnel and ensuring they're equipped for the ambulance arrival.
2. Perform Rescue Breathing If Necessary
If your loved one stops breathing during her stroke, tilt her head back, open her airway and begin rescue breathing. Continue the rescue breaths until she begins breathing on her own or until you're relieved by the emergency medical technicians. When breathing stops, permanent brain damage can occur in 4 to 6 minutes, so it's critical to provide the patient with these resuscitation breaths to minimize cognitive impairment.
3. Make the Stroke Victim Comfortable
If the stroke sufferer is breathing, try to make him more comfortable. Avoid extreme neck movements, but turn his head slightly to the side, so he won't choke if he begins vomiting. Loosen his shirt collar and other binding clothing to keep him comfortable.
4. Do Not Offer Food, Drink or Aspirin
If the stroke victim is alert, she may ask for a glass of water. Even if the acute symptoms have passed, it's important to withhold food and liquids in case she becomes unable to swallow or breathe.
While aspirin therapy is appropriate for some stroke sufferers, it's critical that you don't administer the drug on your own. Aspirin can be helpful for an ischemic stroke, which is caused by blockage in the brain from a clot. However, if your loved one is having a hemorrhagic stroke, the aspirin could intensify the episode by increasing the bleeding.
5. Adjust Head and Body Temperature
Place ice packs or frozen bags of vegetables on the stroke sufferer's head to reduce the inflammatory stroke reaction and provide headache relief. You'll want to cover his body with a blanket or jacket, though, to prevent him from going into shock. When you've attended to the victim's immediate needs, wait patiently, speaking softly to calm him until medical personnel arrive.
