By now I hope most people have heard of the ways to identify a stroke, using the F.A.S.T test:
F: Face - is it drooping?
A: Arms - can you raise both?
S: Speech - is it slurred or jumbled?
T: Time - to call 911 right away.
But these are only SOME symptoms of SOME more common strokes. I've recently learned that during a cerebellar ischemic stroke (a stroke caused by a clot in the cerebellum), these common symptoms may not present at all.
Cerebellar strokes are extremely rare, and almost twice as deadly as other types of stroke. Survival and recovery are definitely possible, but as with all strokes, the sooner a person gets treatment, the better their chances are. I wanted to share the information I've found so it may help someone identify this type of stroke and get treatment as quickly as possible.
The cerebellum is located where the top of the spinal cord meets the brain, and controls movement, balance, sensation, speech and eye muscles. The most severe symptoms of a stroke in this part of the brain are vertigo and dizziness, vomiting, muscle weakness or paralysis, and vision problems. Quite often, a person may be diagnosed with vertigo when in fact they're having a stroke, so it's important to advocate for yourself if you feel strongly that you are experiencing something more severe than vertigo, especially if you can identify within yourself some of the major factors that contribute to your risk of stroke.
The factors that put a person at risk for this type of stroke include smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, prior stroke or heart disease. Additional risk factors for women include high blood pressure during pregnancy, use of birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy, menopause, and pregnancy. (So basically just being a woman can increase this risk - hooray!)
Ladies, trans and non-binary people and POCs, I especially urge you to always advocate for yourself in any medical situation. Doctors tend not to take our complaints as seriously; healthcare gaslighting and gender and racial bias in healthcare are very real things that have very serious consequences for many people.
Education and self-empowerment is everything. We are all responsible for our own health. I'm really glad to have learned about cerebellar stroke, and I hope I've helped someone else gain some knowledge as well. We can't know everything, but every new piece of information helps.
Take good care.
