skip to main content
RadInfo Logo Home

May is American Stroke Month

Stroke is a leading cause of death and permanent brain injury among adults in the United States. Black and Hispanic Americans have the highest risk for stroke. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity can increase your risk.

Signs of stroke may include sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg (typically on one side of the body). Other warning signs include trouble seeing, walking or speaking and unexplained sudden, severe headache.

Treatment is most effective and successful when it is administered as quickly as possible after symptoms appear. Timely surgery, clot busting drugs or image-guided intracranial vascular treatments can result in a complete or near-complete recovery from the effects of stroke.

Your risk for stroke increases as you age, but some lifestyle changes – such as quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and exercising more – can help decrease that risk.

Remember— stroke is treatable when recognized quickly. Know the symptoms and get emergency medical help promptly when you see the signs.

See the stroke page for more information. For more about stroke risk, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, visit:

This page was reviewed on May 01, 2024

Sponsored By

Please note

RadiologyInfo.org is not a medical facility. Please contact your physician with specific medical questions or for a referral to a radiologist or other physician. To locate a medical imaging or radiation oncology provider in your community, you can search the ACR-accredited facilities database.

This website does not provide cost information. The costs for specific medical imaging tests, treatments and procedures may vary by geographic region. Discuss the fees associated with your prescribed procedure with your doctor, the medical facility staff and/or your insurance provider to get a better understanding of the possible charges you will incur.

Web page review process: This Web page is reviewed regularly by a physician with expertise in the medical area presented and is further reviewed by committees from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR), comprising physicians with expertise in several radiologic areas.

Outside links: For the convenience of our users, RadiologyInfo.org provides links to relevant websites. RadiologyInfo.org, RSNA and ACR are not responsible for the content contained on the web pages found at these links.