 Most people know what to do in the case of a medical emergency. Call 911. Call 911. But don't know that stroke is a medical emergency. Stroke? What you need to do is get to a hospital as quickly as possible. Every minute counts. When her husband, Robert, had a stroke, Alma Shanley knew just what to do. And he sat down in the chair and he kept staring at me and I thought he was fooling around with me at first. And I said to him, this is not funny, Robert. I could not speak. All I knew, she was my wife. And I reached over and took a hand. And I couldn't remember the names of my grandchildren or my daughters. It was a complete blank. And I said to him, you're having a stroke. Stay here. I'm calling the ambulance. A stroke, sometimes called a brain attack, occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. That can happen if a blood vessel breaks or gets blocked by a clot. When someone has a stroke, brain cells in the immediate area begin to die because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need. Somehow we have to get the hopeful message out that there is something you can do. It's not hopeless. And I think four or five years ago, that was pretty much true. But now it's changed vastly. And the change is that now you can do something. In the past, people often struggle to live with serious disabilities after a stroke. But they don't have to accept those limitations now. Today, people have a much better chance for a complete recovery. Effective treatment is available for strokes caused by a blood clot. And that's about 80% of all strokes. He made it to the hospital, I would say, in probably 25 minutes from when he left here. And six days later, he walked out of the hospital. And I think that's a miracle. I really do. We've been able to develop a drug, TPA, which you can inject in a vein, goes through the body. But it knows where the clot is. It goes and locks onto that clot and dissolves it. And the blood starts flowing again. New treatments can limit the disability caused by a stroke. But you need to know the signs and act in time. Here are the signs to look for in yourself or those around you. Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body. Sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or coordination. Sudden severe headache with no known cause. If you experience any of these symptoms, you need to get to a hospital right away. Even if they go away quickly, it may still be a stroke. Stroke is really a block or a break in a blood vessel in the brain. If it is on a specific side of the brain, usually that's the left side of the brain, then people will have a great deal of trouble either saying things or understanding things, and sometimes both. When someone has a sudden loss of function, they should, without delay, call 911 and get to the hospital. It's that type of a medical emergency where you don't have time to call your doctor's office, you don't have time to discuss it with the friend, the patient, or more properly, the person with the patient. Call 911, get to the hospital. Hi, Grandma. Because stroke injures the brain, the person having one might not realize it. In this demonstration, other people recognize the signs of a stroke and call 911. Mom, I don't know, she just suddenly stopped. An alert family member or bystander can be a real hero. I don't really want to know. Mom, I can't talk, I think she's having a stroke. It's really worth the effort it takes to dial 911. It's hard to decide to do that. You're not always sure exactly what's going on, but it is really worth it. It's going to pay back in terms of going home and living your life. They have to get there early to get the best treatment. They need to be examined by doctors. Close your eyes. They need brain scans, like CAT scans, to know what the best therapy is. The big pictures turned out shows all the details of your brain and makes it very obvious whether there's bleeding or not in your brain. It also helps to know if you or those you care about are at risk for stroke. Take Sylvia Saxton, for example. Despite high blood pressure, diabetes, and a family history, her stroke came as a surprise. When my foot went to sleep, I hadn't thought it could be a stroke. I thought it was just when you're sitting down or laying down like you're doing, your foot got to sleep. I did not really connect it to the science of a stroke. If you have high blood pressure, you're four to six times more likely to have a stroke. Heart disease and a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation can double your risk of stroke. Your risk also increases if you smoke, have diabetes, sickle cell disease, high cholesterol, or a family history of stroke. Strokes are preventable. They can be prevented. They can also be treated. Years ago, we couldn't do that. Now we can. We want people to be aware of their body, know those numbers, their blood pressure, their glucose, their cholesterol. All of that's important. It's so important to just watch my health in every vein. Try to watch my weight. Try to keep the pressure down. It's just so important to try to stay healthy so you won't have another stroke. Stroke touches so many American families. It's the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious long-term disability. But today, there is effective treatment that can prevent or reduce those disabilities. The key is know the signs, act in time. If you think someone is having a stroke, if they suddenly lose the ability to speak or the ability to move their arm or leg on one side, or if they have weakness on one side, don't wait. Call 911 immediately. You can have your life back after a stroke if you know the signs and act in time. We can go on with our life. We can enjoy our life. We can enjoy our children, our grandchildren. It means that Grandpa is going to be around, that Mom's going to be there to enjoy Christmas with you. All of those things that make life worthwhile simply because we all understood and acted on the signs of a stroke. Okay, over here. You're getting me sick now.