Thank you for this story. It hits close to home for me. I was 37 years old when I was running along Chicago’s beautiful lakefront and had an awful headache. I also ended up calling my brother, who instantly recognized my slurred speech and met me with paramedics. I had an AVM that ruptured on the right side of my brain which caused a hemorrhagic stroke. I was completely paralyzed on my left side, unable to walk.. but with physical therapy improved a great deal. I can now walk, be independent, although still Faldo not have functional use of my left arm/hand, almost 3 years later, but feel blessed to be here for my 3.5 year old daughter and loving husband. I work hard every day to push myself to get better. I refuse to give up. I feel sad for Luke Perry’s family. I am glad he has brought awareness to stroke happening to young people too.
21
I feel for Mr. Perry's family and friends as well as all his fans which I am one, may he RIP !
Would like to say I had a what was believed to be a stroke when I was 18 years old , pregnant with my daughter & in the shower when it happened whole left side went completely numb couldn't move or speak lasted about 15 or 20 minutes I believe -
doctor's said it was a type of stroke ? I will be 60 next month never had any more problems but it sure scared the heck out of me at the time.
7
Reading over these comments, I am reminded that, while the rates of stroke are increasing at every age, so is the age of having children. People, have your children while you are young--best by age 24. Lessen the chance of leaving orphans behind.
5
Thanks to Ms. Swisher for a very truthful article. I had what was thought to be a TIA on February 12, 2008 at the age of 51. I had milder signs (numbness of my left foot and left hand, then numbness creeping up my face) but after 3 days in the hospital, I was able to go home with no further damage. Unfortunately, my numbness and weakness in both my left foot and fingertips has never gone away, but I'm lucky. What happened to Luke Perry is a horrible reminder of what can happen even with speedy treatment and state of the art hospitals. At least the word is out that no one is too young for a stroke. Maybe that's the most important legacy he has left behind, besides all the good he did in this world. Don't ignore any warning sign-the life you save may be your own.
5
For three days I refused to believe I had a stroke,I didn't have a headache, but I couldn't lean over on my left side to tie my shoes. What convinced me something wasn't right was when I was on a Chat help line with Adobe. I was typing away when I looked up and realized it was all gibberish. I walked to the hospital, I still was in denial. When I got to the hospital the doctor had me raise my eyebrows. He said you had a Stroke. I told him he was mistaken, I knew what stroke victims looked like and that wasn't me. The MRI, confirmed I had a stroke. That was two years ago. My typing ( my left hand) is still pretty bad, drinking soup is risky- mouth leakage. Try to make every day count.
thanks Kara for a wonderful piece.
14
This is an important message for us all on Ash Wednesday.
26
Just remember: F A S T
The main stroke symptoms can be remembered with the word 'FAST': Face-Arms-Speech-Time.
Face – the face may have dropped on one side, the person may not be able to smile or their mouth or eye may have drooped.
Arms – the person with the suspected stroke may not be able to lift one or both arms and keep them there because of arm weakness or numbness.
Speech – their speech may be slurred or garbled, or the person may not be able to talk at all despite appearing to be awake.
Time – it is time to call triple zero (000) immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms.
13
Would it be possible to not see men’s underwear when reading a sensitive article?
Please?
Shoes - shoes would be ok.
20
A nurse told me to live within 30 minutes of a hospital, and hopefully there is a nearby ambulance for stroke / heart attack episodes. Of course it is important to be lucky enough to have a mini stroke and not a knock out punch severe stroke.
I remember gently coaxing my mother to get into the car so I could drive her to the medical group for observation. She lived more than 15 years after that event. She was not about to interrupt her daily routine on the day of her stroke, so I had to gently coax her to get her coat, cancel her appointments, and get on the road to medical help. Everything happened at once, but she got through it. If I hadn't been there, I believe she would have continued the day until she would have dropped.
I take baby aspirin daily, and only take Tylenol PM on rare occasions, since some ingredients may promote dementia.
No red meat, no sugar, no caffeinated drinks.
2
I woke up one night after I realised in a dream I was going to die. Awake, standing at the window, looking out over my garden, I understood the wall of water I had seen rushing towards me was only a scary dream. I also understood that my right arm and leg were not functioning normally. I was 47 and spent the next three months in hospital learning to use my lame right side again. The following nine months I was in therapy doing the same. From day 1, I felt very relieved I could still talk, think and learn how to use my left side. Every new day was a blessing. I was thankful and my life got a completely new meaning. Thanks to the amazing welfare system in my country, my stroke barely cost me anything. After 6 months I carefully started working again. After 12 months I was back..Another man. Another life. And I did what I should have done more than a year before. I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to the most vulnerable amongst us. It took a wall of water, but I am thankful it woke me up in time.
22
You rock, Kara Swisher. Gorgeous piece of writing. Very moving quote from Jobs (go figure)--but you explain how it could come from that man. A kick in my pants that I needed today. May we have many more columns from you.
17
This is the first instance in which I saw the use of the word "grok" in major media. I had to look it up!
10
Hypertension is known as risk factor for stroke....But in 2019, what NUMBER constitutes high blood pressure, is it 140/90, 135/87, 128/79, etc?....Use to be anything over 140/90 was HBP, but I've seen articles saying anything > 120/80 is HBP.....I can'r imagine most MD's prescribing medication if one's BP is 128/82, etc..Unless one has tons of risk factors...
And BP changes so much, need to have multiple readings....One MD said take 6 readings in a short span, throw out the highest and lowest numbers and average the other 4...
7
Penny's Husband: I had a stroke at 52 - I felt it coming after a very rough day losing a project I was dedicated to for 12 years.
Fortunately I recovered and now I see everyday not only as a gift, but as a reason to enjoy my life and family. The 'big things' tend to circumvent the important parts of life. We should all greet each day with a smile and a
thank you!
12
I had a stroke while driving on I-95 on Easter morning. When my 86-year old mother, who was a passenger, noticed that I wasn't responsive, she panicked, grabbed the wheel and crashed us into the guardrail. Luckily, two good Samaritans about a quarter mile behind us had noticed the traffic slowing down, a car out of control, and wondered why people were beeping and speeding past us. They decided to stop. Our car was still in drive, they put it in park, and called 911. I had had an ischemic stroke and getting timely help was critical to survival. As I healed, I was determined to thank the young strangers. I called the EMS, who referred me to the State Police, who referred me to two other state highway bureaus. After even more attempts, and disappointments, I finally found the right desk who could help me find my "Samaritan Saviors of I-95." I am forever grateful for their stopping because it was Easter and they were in a rush to get to their family. If you see a car crashing in front of you, stop to see if the person/s are okay. You could be saving a life. And for me it was especially important ... my son was getting married in 8 weeks. During my recovery in two hospitals, I prayed that I would be able to walk him down the aisle (without the walker) and have the mother/groom dance. I made it!
44
Is daily aspirin still considered a good habit for those over 50? Does aspirin affect long-term stroke risk? (If anyone cares to reply, thanks.)
3
@mikey
I think what was thought to be preventative has been studied to have less effect than previously thought. I still take one daily because negative effects are minimal. It maybe a long time for a definitive decision because of the variables
3
I had a TIA while playing tennis in Santa Monica 10 years ago when I was 51. Drs could not explain the cause and I was fine after a few hours. They kept me in the Cardiac Unit over night, but couldn't find anything. 3 Months later I had a massive stroke back home in the parking lot of my YMCA. Luckily I was transported to the hospital in plenty of time to be treated. They found a clot and used TPA to bust it up. And they discovered I had Paraxism Atrial Fibrillation. I never felt the irregular heart beat at anytime before these strokes happened. After 3 PVA's to try to correct this condition, I am in AFib fulltime and on blood thinners the rest of my life, but count myself lucky to have survived.
7
I have a question for anyone who knows about stroke symptoms. I get migraines with aura. Oftentimes, my aura involves visual disturbances, slurred speech, confusion, and numbness on one side of my body, including my leg, arm, and a portion of my face.
How can a migraine sufferer who experiences these aura symptoms tell the difference between a normal aura and the signs of a stroke?
8
@Jillian Search "Hemiplegic migraine." It is mentioned in one of the letters below. It is not life -threatening.
1
@mikey. Oh I know the symptoms/migraine aren't life threatening. I've dealt with them for years. My concern is that if I or another migraine sufferer were having a stroke we would mistake the symptoms for an aura. I was wondering if there is a difference in symptoms or severity when it's a stroke.
4
So often these stories follow this pattern. The author almost dies, and consequently learns to appreciate life. Most of us will not be lucky enough to have that rude awakening. We will just experience being alive and then being dead. If only we could learn to appreciate life now.
18
Thank you, Kara Swisher!
I had a liver transplant at 44 and consequently have no fear of aging- bring it!
I am so glad, so very grateful to be allowed the time to watch these changes unfold.❤️
11
My Mother's family all died of strokes or colon cancer, five generations of them. I had a DNA study done and found out I have two recessive genes for colon cancer. Then I had a saddle embolism in my chest that almost killed me. I realized that being 66 is almost unusual in my family because they all died so young.
I am on blood thinners now so hopefully the embolism problem is gone, and I have a colonoscope every 18 months. Hoping I can finally break the curses in our family.
11
I had a massive stroke at 58 with no symptoms due to a blood clot that was blocking the major artery to my brain. Luckily my son was with me and I was in the ER in 45 minutes. With no time to spare as my brain was dying, a surgeon performed a thrombectomy by inserting a wire in my groin running it up to my brain and pulled the clot out. I sustained damage to my right frontal lobe primarily and have some moderate weakness/slowness on my left side. I was very fortunate to go to a hospital that offers this.
The upside is I now hook my golf ball instead of slicing so I'm seeing a different golf course now.
65
The Steve Jobs speech, widely quoted and rightly so, was given under false pretenses. He gives the impression of having gotten past pancreatic cancer. In fact, he had not. As we have learned since his death, Jobs lied about his health with exotic impunity, surrounding himself in a reality distortion field. Not a good guy.
7
In my view, the Stoics, especially Seneca and Epictetus, have best described the most useful attitude toward life's finitude. Rather than attempting to summarize their wisdom, I just want to direct interested readers in their direction.
8
I like the writer, Kara Swisher, and this is a good obituary piece. I do not know Luke Perry. Neither I have seen 90210 because I have no TV. I do not know much about Steve Jobs, but there was his speech quotation, so I’m drawn to comment on the latter part of the opinion piece. Swisher essentially talks about death perceived through life. The paragraph immediately after the Jobs-citation is brilliant and sparkling with no ostentatious shininess. That “urgency” is present at any moment as variable for everyone. Thus, the opinion piece can be read as a sweet obituary in tenderness to the humanity of all.
8
Thank you for the article. I too had a stroke almost 11 years ago, and due to the quick action by my husband and then the quick action by the doctor in the emergency room, my life was saved. I too have a PFO that I have never had repaired. I think about my stroke every day and I am on my knees every morning thanking God for allowing me to be here and very recently seeing my beautiful new grandson. I don’t think anyone who has not had a stroke or a similar incident can ever really appreciate the impact it can have. I am very very grateful for the past 11 years and for every day in the future which I am granted.
8
Incredibly poignant for me, as a stroke survivor, like you in my late Forties (48). Thank you for your personal revelations. The subsequent 20 years have been sources of adaptation to moderate physical impairment and the development of greater toughness against the disabilities threatening to severely limit my life. A learning curve I never thought I'd have to face as a reasonably healthy 45-year old, but one that I must admit has produced a good bit of emotional growth.
14
A friend of mine suffered a stroke. 3 months later, so did I. Knowing about his experience prompted me to realize that something major was happening and I headed to the first taxi I could find to the ER. It probably saved me a lot of trouble and luckily I had insurance to cover the over night stay in intensive care where my bills came to around $45,000.
4
Ms. Swisher, thank you so much! This is a vitally important story that must be told and retold. As a physician it breaks my heart to see a patient arrive at the ER twelve hours or more after their first stoke symptoms. Brain tissue lost, never to be restored.
On a personal level, I'm relieved to have you with us just for the pleasure of reading your columns.
20
The story of Luke Perry hit me hard too. I had a pulmonary embolism - a blood clot in the lungs - last year at 52 and survived. It was after a long flight and occurred on another continent as well - Africa. It was a saddle type and things could have and often do go the other way. I received lifesaving treatment from excellent physicians there. My father died at 53 from heart disease and this hit home as I was in the coronary care unit. While there are many risk factors mine was being on birth control as well as the long flight. I have stopped the pill and made many lifestyle changes for health and fitness. I get up and hydrate on flights. There are sad stories like those that happened to Mr Perry but there are also very hopeful stories of intervention as well. I was glad to read yours.
7
Thank you for sharing your story. Lot's of good information. Too bad you had to invest so much text in explaining who you meeting and how important you are. All lives matter and I appreciate the good your article may have in increasing stroke awareness.
1
Aneurysms are congential.
If you have not, Kara, please get genetic testing for cardiovascular disorders.
TAAD (Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Dissesctions) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder, which primarily involves problems with the aorta, specifically the thoracic aorta. The major manifestations of TAAD include aortic dilatation, aortic aneurysms, aortic dissection, and aneurysms of the other arteries (i.e. abdominal, cerebral). In addition to cardiac defects, TAAD can manifest with other features including: congenital heart abnormalities, inguinal hernia, scoliosis, a purplish skin discoloration (livedo reticularis) caused by abnormalities in the tiny blood vessels of the skin (dermal capillaries), or ocular abnormalities (i.e. iris flocculi). Generally the first feature to present is aortic dilatation, where the aorta is stretched and weakened over time.
Familial TAAD is expected to cause about 20% of all cases of thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.
5
First condolences to Mr Perry’s family and fans. And well done to the authors brother who spotted her stroke. I hope she is recovered/recovering.
I agree that reflecting on our own mortality can be invigorating. The Romans used to say ‘memento mori’ Or ‘remember to die’. Emperors paid slaves to whisper this phrase in their ears when they were in the middle of enjoying a banquet.
I feel slightly annoyed at this article though. It says you should ‘live everyday as if it was your last’ but not everyone has these choices like Steve Jobs and jet setting journalists writing for the NYT. I would rather be back packing round China than working in my my part time job but I am disabled and I don’t have the money to just jack everything in and follow my dream. It’s just another version of the modern ‘go for it’ mentality when not everyone has the $$$ to do so.
Another thing is people here in England say ‘you only live once’. I’m often struck by the strangeness of this phrase when large swathes of the world believe in reincarnation. Someone said to me ‘death in a great friend’. If you have had a hard life I can see how annihilation could be welcome. No more worries, no more debts, no more hassle. I wonder about reincarnation but sometimes I think would it be a blessing or a curse to be endlessly brought back to life.
77
@Leejesh Between you and me a sentence starting, as yours did "I would rather be..." would end "in England". Growing up in Australia, a Dutch immigrant, British culture was dominant, and I am frankly nostalgic for it. I would also "rather be" with my 9 year old or my 7 year old, if I were still a young mother, but one fearing an early death. So it is all in your perspective. Clearly the point of the article stands: seek treatment immediately for those symptoms of stroke!
9
@Leejesh
I had a similar response. While the article reminds us to live life to the fullest, it also reflects a cultural bias of regarding celebrities and careerists as so much wiser than the rest of us, and that we should somehow strive to be more like them. It ain't necessarily so, and steve jobs isn't he first person to note that our time here is limited.
20
@Boomer wasnt clear but sounds like you are facing early death too. Can’t really say much to that except send my thoughts.
Yeah I was being slightly churlish. Perspective is a big thing. I have things on my doorstep like the Elizabeth Gaskell House, the Bronte Parsonage Museum and Fountains Abbey which people in other countries would love to see.
9
THANK YOU .....
1
Due to some minor issues in my life I have been moping around for a few days. This article helped me realize how foolish I have been to worry about little things. I will now go for a walk with my dog and we will enjoy the sunshine and crisp air. And this evening we will share some ice cream. Thank you.
143
This writer was lucky. I was not. My stroke happened when I was 31. My son was almost 6. My world turned upside down. It took the doctors a week to diagnose my stoke. It was a dissection of an artery in my brain stem, so my autonomic nervous system was effected. My husband and I have adjusted, as did my son. Hearing about Luke Perry made me very sad, thinking about his children and family. I hope this raises the awareness about strokes.Not all strokes are caused by clots. Some are bleeds. The symptoms are the same! Remember FAST - FACE, ARMS, SPEECH, TIME
https://www.stroke.org/understand-stroke/recognizing-stroke/act-fast/
181
@Heidi Menocal Clots and bleeds are 2 ways that a stroke can occur. The third is an atherosclerotic stroke wherein a piece of plaque breaks loose and travels in one's body until it lands somewhere. That describes my stroke in June 2016. It hit my right thalamus. I live with the aftereffects of my stroke everyday with discomfort in the left side of my body and more. I feel great gratitude that my outcome was not worse like Luke Perry or others who have far more debilitating outcomes. Kara's article is important and will save lives. Thank you, Kara.
35
I had my stroke at 35. A dissection of the rear vertebral artery caused by neck adjustments. The first indication something wasn't right was when I stood up out of bed in the AM and tilted over to the back and left. Ataxia. It took most of the day for me to put together the growing list (slurred speech, nausea when I raised my head) and get to the ER.
I'm not an upbeat person to begin with, so no surprise the lingering effect from my stroke is depression. I can live with it.
51
Thank you for sharing this story. I too suffered a stroke at 28. Being a healthy young woman with none of the known risk factors (I am skinny, have never smoked, have normal cholesterol, and exercise), I initially ignored the warning signs. I was at work and experienced slurred speech and motor issues on my right side that lasted under 5 minutes. Since it quickly passed, I largely ignored the event. Later, at the urging of my sister who is a nurse, in addition to an increasing headache, I finally went to the walk-in clinic after work. After describing my symptoms I was given Tylenol and sent home. Later that night, I woke up with a massive migrane which was entirely unusual since I don't normally have headaches. I immediately went to the ER, and after re-telling my experience to a number of people I was finally taken for a scan. The scan revealed that I did indeed have a stroke.
The immediate 3 years were emotional to say the least. After a number of tests, no root cause has been determined. The worst is not knowing the cause and if this will happen again.
Yes, young people do have strokes, and we all need to keep that in mind, health care professionals most of all.
138
@Melissa
Thanks for sharing your story -- you're not alone! I had no risk factors except that I was 60 -- was running, and in mile 6 started feeling dizzy . . . was never unconscious or paralyzed, but (as they say) I "threw a clot" and 1/3 of my right cerebellum is now gone. Yay Pradaxa, now . . . but I SO get it about not knowing cause and outlook. I'm trying to let go of (the illusion of) control and to be grateful for the people in my life. We are blessed to still be here!
29
@Melissa
I hope you had a cardiac workup in addition to your other tests, things like Atrial Fibrillation can cause a stroke.
I had a DVT while I was pregnant, I had many blood tests and nothing was found to be wrong with my blood clotting factor. It was due to being pregnant, elevated estrogen hormone during pregnancy was all they could tell. I was unable to take any hormonal birth control afterward due to this history. I had also not taken any hormonal birth control before I became pregnant. I was lucky that the DVT didn't kill me or cause a stroke or a pulmonary embolism, I was initially misdiagnosed by the ob/gyn I was seeing. I went to a new ob/gyn and was diagnosed after they sent me for a duplex sonogram of the legs. I should have gone straight to the ER but my first doctor insisted that I had "sciatica." I have sciatica now and the pain from a DVT in my leg was much much worse than any sciatica I have since experienced. I could not put my foot down on the floor due to the pain and was on crutches for a time. When they did find out what was going on I was admitted to the hospital and put on IV Heparin immediately. I should have been more forceful with my first doctor (he was very paternalistic) but I allowed myself to be intimidated by him. Luckily my neighbor who worked for a different ob/gyn arranged an appointment for me to go and see the doctor she worked for.
This has been a pattern in my life, I have told people I have symptoms and they disbelieve me.
20
@Melissa thanks for sharing. At 30 years I had what was thought to be a stroke.The event repeated recently and has now been diagnosed as a Hemiplegic Migraine. Scary all the same. I pray that this info might be useful for those who are unable to determine cause.
9
A brush with death at any age, but especially at a younger-than-expected age, does have a way of sharpening the mind and reminding you to enjoy life when the opportunities present themselves. I had a life-threatening complication after having my second child, and it took me a solid year to really work through it - I was both eternally thankful for surviving but had a new awareness of how tenuous life is. People tell you that, but it's hard to believe until you have a first hand experience. I'm glad you are ok, Kara Swisher.
9
I had a stroke four years ago, when I was 53. It was a shock to me since I was running half-marathons at the time. In fact, the very best doctors could not figure out what caused it, and I don't suffer from any of the genetic issues Ms Swisher touches on in her case.
Still, I woke up one morning and couldn't control my left arm. Thought for sure I'd slept on it badly and pinched a nerve. And when it didn't get better, I drove myself to the hospital for an examination. Imagine the shock when they said the dreaded word, "stroke", after doing some tests.
Things to learn from my case - as well as Mr Perry's and Ms Swisher's. Listen to your body and take every bit of oddness very seriously, indeed. You won't always have a brother like Ms Swisher's to point you in the right direction.
And embrace life to the full. There's no predicting what and when it might be interrupted or sent down a very different path. Steve Jobs was on the money with his advice.
Thankfully, I've been fine since my brush with mortality. But I'm ever vigilant. And one more piece of advice - don't drive yourself to the hospital.
150
You have described circumstances which are chillingly similar to those that caused the premature death of my husband at the age of 60. At the age of 55, this slim, athletic and energetic man developed horrible right-side headaches. The carotid artery dissection, stroke and heart attack were not properly diagnosed for over 3 months because of misreading of his MRI results, and also, I believe, because he was otherwise the picture of health. The last 5 years of his life were lived at a much slower pace, but we both knew his time was limited. He died on his way to work one morning. Our children were 8 and 12. I believe he could have had more time if he’d been properly diagnosed, and subsequently treated more appropriately. Twenty-plus years later, when I turned over in bed one morning and experienced loss of normal function in my left arm and hand, I called 911. I wonder how different those last years of my husband’s life would have been if he had received the same excellent, thorough work-up and treatment I did. I’ve suffered minimal lasting damage, and am receiving appropriate, effective follow-up treatment for previously undiagnosed Afib.
86
@Chris I had a massive pulmonary embolism covering the heart and both lungs. I drove myself to the doctor. That's okay tho because the helicopter took me the rest of the way. LOL.
17
Thank you for an excellent article. I guess this section is reserved for survivors who can still type. I too suffered an ischemic stroke at 51. My blood pressure was dysregulated but only during exercise and would get upwards of 250/120 for hours. When my ischemic stroke hit, I was with my son, who was 15 at the time. I remember him saying “dad you are NOT ok.” Under what must have been traumatic circumstances he called 911 and got me to the ER in 15 minutes. I remember muttering unintelligibly to the paramedic before I passed out, “don’t have an accident, but perhaps you could step on it.” I’d like to take credit for my son’s upbringing, but you can’t really teach that kind of grace under extreme pressure. He’s just an extraordinary young man. I recovered. I was also blessed to have an extraordinary physician, who had and took the time to evaluate all the data. In her quiet and thoughtful way, she ordered the right tests that revealed the bp anomaly. My son saved my life in the moment, and my doctor saved it going forward. I consider myself the luckiest of men to have extraordinary people in my life, and, like the author, I am grateful to have time to spend with them.
493
@Daniel Kalman An extremely important takeaway from your contribution here is that, if we are present when someone seems to be having a stroke, we must not acquiesce to their insistence that they're OK. Your wonderful son did the right thing to disagree with you. A friend of mine was not as lucky. He had a stroke during a little get-together with his pals and they honored his wishes by not calling 911. Treatment was therefore delayed by over an hour. He survived but he is now noticeably slower and more confused. A person having a stroke is in no condition to make decisions.
84
@Daniel Kalman thank you for sharing that very moving story. Your son sounds like a decisive fast thinking young man, and I am so happy for you both that he was able to do the right thing.
23
I was too cavalier ending my post but I was, in fact, on a golf course when I had my stroke. It was a hot humid August day in Missouri and I'd had a couple of beers. I hit a tee shot (another slice) and my face was drooping immediately afterwards. It didn't hurt and actually felt like the longest yawn ever.
My son saw I wasn't right and drove to the parking lot where a nurse happened to be at a wedding dinner. The 911 call was made despite my protests that I was just fine. After all, we were leaving for a Mexico family vacation early the next morning.
I was already in the process of losing my job due to a merger which happened several weeks later and I haven't been employed since nor have I sought employment. The depression mentions here have not gone unnoticed.
I had a heart monitor implanted but no signs of AFib. A neuro/psych evaluation said it would be harmful to return to work but my disability application was denied. I consulted an attorney who advised against a challenge because my application was "too well done".
I'm thankful to be alive and mobile and reasonably coherent.
18
At age 55, 14 years ago, I had a heart attack resulting in bypass surgery. A week later, I had a devastating bilateral pulmonary embolism. Prior to that, I was healthy, in good physical shape, and my cholesterol, blood pressure, etc was fine. I now am aware that I, in fact, will die. Interestingly, I am also now more unafraid of death, having come so close to it.
131
I had a stroke too. I had a couple of heart attacks before it, and somehow was not tuned in to the idea that you could have BOTH in one lifetime. Your comments about being confined on an airplane before this event rang true to me. I had been driving for LYFT several hours a day for a full 3 months before the stroke, sometimes 11 hours a day. And then I missed a change in my sleep apnea diagnosis, that went from borderline to severe. All these things preceded my stroke that occurred in the wee hours of the morning. I am glad that you fully recovered. I still have to use a cane to walk, but I am glad to be alive and that I can still swallow food, and eat most of the things I like, and listen and speak with the powers of understanding and expression. Oh the things we don't cherish until we see they can't be taken for granted!
228
Totally can relate. We were visiting NYC. In the middle of a Broadway show felt my heart racing. Went back to our hotel room.
At first didn't want to go to the hospital. At one point, my wife asked me to name my sisters name. I knew them but the words would not come out. That convinced me something was wrong.
Fortunately Lenox Hill Hospital was nearby. As soon as I walked in, they called a stroke code and saved my life.
I wasn't 50.
Needless to say my outlook on life has changed since that day....
233
I, too, had a similar stroke at age 52. Quick recognition and action by my wife, EMTs, ER personnel and recombinant DNA saved my life that Sunday morning. While in the hospital, a hole in my heart (a PFO) was also discovered.
Each night before I sleep, and as soon as I wake in the morning I send my thanks to all. And, that event has led me to pursue life with humility, gratitude and ... less patience for real jerks.
116
Terrific column. Brought back memories. Of living in Hong Kong, yes, but more recently my hemorrhages from a thalamic cavernous malformation leading to a delicate but successful resection at NYU a few years ago. In the tech world you cover (and that I worked with too), I hope big internet platforms take more of their fortunes from missing the opt-in phase of our digital society - to popularize digital tools to identify, pay for, and ultimately opt-out of, lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. Yes, there is some of this (Veridium, FoodTrax.) - but not enough investment soon enough. Health (and justice) would benefit.
1
I found this self-indulgent and do not understand if the point is to increase awareness of early recognition of stroke or the ever-present specter of death, both of which could have been highlighted by discussing the unfortunate fate of Mr. Perry exclusively. It is wrong and quite inflammatory to speculate that paramedics did not appreciate he might be having a stroke. I am a 30 year survivor of metastatic cancer and a physician, but I would never conceive of writing a piece entitled “so and so had cancer and died, I did also and lived. “ And by the way, we all have less time than we think but that is not an excuse for being impatient and brusque with others who haven’t yet figured it out.
183
@PintoG I had the same thought when I saw this. Everyone is different, and my understanding strokes differ in severity.
17
@PintoG
100% spot on. The pronoun "I" makes practically 4 dozen appearances in this piece by a self acclaimed editor at large. Further proof that the journalism is awash in mediocrity. Too many websites, blogs, podcasts and cable channels to fill with worthwhile content and writing.
38
All Kara Swisher was trying to do, and I thought she did it well, was tell a simple story, using herself as an example, that what happened to Perry happened to her and could happen to us and, if and when it happens, as it happened to Steve Jobs, we will have a different relationship to life because of death. It may be impossible to write of ones near-death experiences without sounding presumptuous. These stinging rebukes of her essay are unwarranted. She lived to tell us her story, a helpful warning to those of us still living and I’m thankful she did.
380
We should all remember the sage words of Frank Sinatra: "You only live once, but if you do it right, that's enough."
7
A year ago I had the classic pain in the neck/jaw/left arm along with the elephant standing on my chest. Went to the ER and found out it was THE widowmaker lesion of the LAD, along with two others in the RAMUS and OM. "You're very fortunate you came in" said the vascular surgeon doing the heart cath. "Had you had a heart attack, you would not have made it to the hospital." Twelve hours later I was having open heart surgery for a problem I never knew existed, nor had any telltale preconditions.
Listen to your body. It's trying to tell you something.
46
I had a similar event that I think was a migraine. Many years ago, in my early twenties, I suffered numbness in my mouth and lips and cognitive problems. I tried to call my wife, who was with her parents, but couldn't remember the phone number and I couldn't look it up because I couldn't remember her maiden name. When she arrived, she found me at the kitchen table unable to speak.
I was taken to a doctor who injected me with a powerful pain killer, I became sick to my stomach and eventually slept. When I awoke the episode had passed.
I had all the symptoms of a stroke but I guess some migraines mimic the same symptoms.
1
I too had a small stroke. My ring finger became numb as I was driving home from work. Then the side of my hand grew tingly. I had never heard of a numb finger being a warning sign. I saw my family doctor early the next morning. He asked me to walk a straight line: I couldn't without tipping toward a wall. An MRI that day showed I had a small stroke. I wish I had gone to the hospital when my finger became numb.
8
This account is unfortunately filled with misinformation and false equivalencies.
First off, no one gets an "emergency MRI" if stroke is suspected, not here and not in Hong Kong. You get an emergent CT scan ( and now also CT angiogram of the head and neck) to differentiate between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and therefore guide immediate therapy.
Second, there's no evidence on MRI (or CT ) of a transient ischemic attack. If the parenchymal lesion is visible - even if symptoms have subsided- it is considered a stroke.
Third, the author didn't "almost die" if her symptoms had spontaneously improved by the time she reached the hospital.
Finally, we don't know any details about the stroke that Mr. Perry suffered - it may have been hemorrhagic for all we know - and it certainly was many hundreds of times larger ( in terms of brain volume affected) than the author's. So it's not useful or helpful to draw equivalences here.
The one useful take home message here is that getting to a hospital ASAP is of utmost importance in stroke.
18
@GBR
Your points are all valid, and It appears that this opinion piece was not property vetted by The NY Times medical consultants.
Nevertheless, as you said, the take-away message is to always seek immediate medical attention, and not ignore symptoms of a possible stroke.
6
While I enjoy reading replies, I have to ask: What does being thin, skinny, and slender have to do with good health? Having a healthy weight for your height, body type, skeletal structure is healthy - NOT thin, skinny, or slender. Geez, get over yourselves, people.
4
@Jelly Bean: But, as someone who is not thin, skinny, or slender, but large, have limited mobility (even after losing a lot of weight, as they tell you to), those 3 words is what people, mainly women, have been told to be, my whole life. I’m 68. At one time I was 5’6” 99- pounds, & not anorexic. I ate everything in sight & never threw up. I was told I was too thin. Gain weight. I hope that doctor is proud now, I did. Whether you are over or under weight, going in the other direction is not only hard, but, not completely under your control. But, being skinny is still what we are told to be. It can be as dangerous as being obese.
Strokes? Well, I’ve had 4 closed head injuries, due to falls in the course of my life. Damaged my ability to retain memories. Can’t get anyone to tell me if it could set me up for a stroke. My older brother has had ‘several’ small strokes. All in the decision making areas of the brain. He can decide to make them, or make a list of things to do, but, can’t follow through, or even know he hasn’t. But, he could appear as if he was perfectly healthy,while he & his home fell apart. Physically there were no symptoms. Oh, memory problems after strokes is also called dementia. So, don’t think all dementia is Alzheimer’s, which is progressive. What my brother has won’t worsen unless he has another stroke, or several. They don’t know when they started or whether they will continue. Every day is precious. Which is what the author was saying.
1
Is there pain when someone has a massive stroke before they pass? Standing over my mother feeling her hold my fingers the last few hours in the hospital is something I wish she didn't go through. If there is an honest answer either way I'd like to know.
1
@Glenn S.No Glenn. The type of stroke I suspect you are describing for your mother does not produce pain. Having a long career in dealing with treating patients with fatal events like this though the patient may not be able to speak or is conscious there are other indicators a patient is in pain. Your beloved mother was not suffering pain Glen. I'm sorry for your loss.
15
Not all strokes result in death. And not all strokes result in immediately visible mobility issues. I know of three women who experienced TIA's resulting in blurry vision and mental confusion. When one experiences confusion, it is often natural to try to cover that up. I know of several people who experienced TIA's when they were traveling on airplanes. The worst strokes involve brain hemorrhage, but TIA's and mini-strokes can result from too much constriction of tiny blood vessels in the brain. I wonder how many people are diagnosed with mental disorders when indeed, they have suffered acquired brain injuries from stroke or oxygen deprivation. Migraine aura, the colorful and fluid visual disturbance that may or may not precede or accompany a headache, correlates with higher incidence of stroke. It is helpful to know all of the risk factors.
9
@Debra Merryweather: Thank you. I’ve had migraines twice in my life. All occuring do to unusual physical problems. 1. Needing glasses. 2. During orthodontia. Put any part of my head under physical strain & I will get a migraine, complete with aura (I’m old enough to remember Hailey’s MO antacid commercials, which is exactly what my aura is like. Haven’t had one in years, but, now will keep an eye on it, as you said, it correlates with higher incidence of stroke & my older brother has had ‘several’ ( as the hospital said). My sister in law had a massive stroke which cost her her speech & movement on one side. I’d rather it took my mind.
.
Healthy lifestyle : Kara's doc mentioned inadequate hydration & inactivity as stroke risk factors.
Diet plays a large role: excess fats, cholesterol; & body fat...
These and other risk factors, and not just for stroke, are easily controllable.
.
1
@MinisterOfTruth
If it's so easy why is it that heart disease is the biggest cause of death in this country.
Explain to me how some people who are 72-year-old, and have a terrible diet and sedentary lifestyle are alive, healthy and doing well?
7
@Anabelle: And why are young people who happen to be thin, told to gain weight. Gaining or losing, neither is easy, if it is the opposite of where your body wants to be. Once messed with, it can be almost impossible for many to head back the other direction. Just because some actors seem to be able to do it without problems for roles, doesn’t mean people in the regular world can bounce back & forth.
Life is a gift, and to live each day counting our blessings is to truly honor that gift, I think. No maudlin thoughts of deaths for me, even though I am 79. Yes it will come, soon enough and nothing will prepare me for it except my faith in another glorious life in eternity with my Maker. To live this gift to the best of my ability honoring others and myself and loving not hating but doing the right thing according to my conscience is what I strive for each day. And keep on skiing!!
12
@Manuela Bonnet-Buxton
Well said, Manu!
3
Manuela Bonnet-Buxton. Thank you for your wonderful comment. I recently returned from a meeting (of people younger than you!) in which some older people were attempting to plan various group activities. It is amazing to me how many able-bodied older women seem to embrace an almost invalid mentality as they reach their 70s. Very depressing. The fact that you still ski is wonderful! How I wish I could find more women like you to hang around with ...
2
Kara,
Thank you for sharing this personal and yet universal story. A story of what might happen, what did happen (to you), and what should happen (for all of us).
As both a member of a medical family and a college friend of yours, I am very glad you called your brother and that you heeded his warnings. And I so appreciate your description about how we change when our own mortality pierces through the veil most behind which most of us live.
I work in a neonatal intensive care unit where occasionally that space between birth and death becomes all too narrow. One thing 30 years as a nurse has taught me is that we think we are walking through life on this wide open field, when actually we are on a bit of a tightrope that can shift at any moment.
The goal is not to live in fear and dread, but to ground ourselves in gratitude and purpose and joy and compassion for others.
32
Twenty years ago I arrived home from work to discover my parents sitting in their car waiting for me so they could visit. They had just left my brother’s house which was 10 minutes away. As soon as my 80 year old father got out of the car I could see something was wrong- one side of his face was drooping and he couldn’t find the strength to close his car trunk. I told him I thought he was having a stroke, but he insisted it was a return of his Bell’s palsy. He was unaware his speech was slurred, and didn’t want me to call 911. To my father’s chagrin I called 911 anyway, and had my brother, a nurse, meet the ambulance at the hospital since I had to care for my mother, who had dementia. My father was indeed having a stroke and was given a clot busting drug. He was left with no disability and lived another 8 years, succumbing to end stage renal disease after being diabetic for years. He was very grateful that I had insisted he get medical attention because his mother and older sister had both died in their 50s from strokes. I was just glad I had not stayed later at work, because time is the enemy when a person is having a stroke. Sadly, 15 years later my fiancé died at age 58 from a sudden massive hemorrhagic stroke that came on at our home while he was getting ready for work. Even with prompt medical treatment he had no chance of survival.
19
@Mary Ellen I am so sorry for the losses you've suffered.
6
@Mary Ellen I read that many hospitals delay administering TPA (the drug) until all the tests have come in. It has to be given within a 3 hour period, or it is ineffective. Unfortunately, people more often than not, have strokes in the early hours and wake up with a stroke not knowing how long they have had symptoms. Go to a hospital in the event of a stroke emergency with a stroke department if possible. All major cities have them. Get to know your city before it happens- it just takes a quick google search.
1
Your advice is excellent. In my father’s case I knew his stroke had just happened because he’d been with my brother, who was an RN, minutes before coming to my house. I was also aware he only had a short window of time to receive the TPA if it was an ischemic stroke, which is why I didn’t waste any time calling 911 even though my father objected. The EMT squad chose the hospital that was better equipped to treat the stroke quickly, and it had a great outcome for my father. But you are absolutely correct about the need to determine which local hospital has a stroke unit with a neurologist available 24/7, before you or a loved one needs one.
4
Thank you for sharing your story. Maybe your advice will help people recognize stroke symptoms. Or more broadly, make people think about today's goals.
As a dear friend says, "Enjoy life. No one survives."
10
I've also had a stroke, from which I thankfully recovered. But, I can't stress enough the importance of taking blood pressure medication if your doctor prescribes it. Too many people refuse to take it, and it leaves you at much greater risk for stroke. Taking a simple pill every day is easier than learning to walk again, or worse. I encourage everyone to have their blood pressure checked regularly, and don't be afraid to take the medication and stay active. It could make all the difference for you.
9
I can't help but ask if Mr. Perry was a smoker. I think that is the highest risk factor in most strokes. I was not a fan of the TV shows he was in, and frankly I could not have picked him out of a police lineup. But here is an opportunity to educate the public about mitigating risk factors.
To look at his picture, you see a person who has maintained control over his weight. I think this is illusory in any person who smokes. Tobacco is an appetite suppressant, but at tremendous cost to the vascular system.
I myself am "fat." I struggle with weight issues and I've had my share of fat-shaming. I recall one particular guy who couldn't help reminding me of this, he was obnoxious about it. I finally told him I would outlive him because I didn't smoke and he did That set him to a vehement protest.
It didn't shut him up though. It gives me little consolation that he died of a heart attack six months later. That was eight years ago.
6
Kara, Thank you for sharing your story!
3
I'm glad you didn't die, Kara.
I have a brother who is a physician, too. Such a luxury!
7
Thank you for this article.
It occurs to me that Ms. Swisher survived because she had a smart brother, she is economically secure and she has good health coverage. I am happy she did!
But let us remember that so many people are struggling to make ends meet in the US, and a working poor woman would go to work with these symptoms and maybe risk her life because she has to keep her family going. She might not go to a doctor because she can't afford the deductible.
She doesn't have the luxury of looking in the mirror and asking that Steve Jobs question. Contemplating the last day of her life, she would have to go to work, like it or not.
32
Beautiful. Thank you
2
I worked in a hospital doing a psychology internship years ago many patients had strokes. I recall there were left and right hemiplegia..speech and motor abilities were affected or both..Physical..occupational..speech therapists worked with all..Kudos to their care and concern.
2
And everyone who read this article should check for what are signs of a stroke. I plagiarize freely from the National Stroke Association at:
https://www.stroke.org/understand-stroke/recognizing-stroke/act-fast/
If you think someone's having a stroke, check these things.
Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
Time: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.
They have additional signs, too, at the link. Any of the following things happening suddenly:
- numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding
- trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- severe headache with no known cause
Call 9-1-1 and note when symptoms began
Stay well, Ms. Swisher.
12
@b fagan...most informative...thank you very much
Thank you for writing this.
I can relate to lots in this account - closely related health crisis (blood clot causing myocardial infarction vs stroke), the age part, genetic condition, children, lasting sense of mortality, noticing the notables that died of what I survived...
...not so much the 'life lesson' part, or being tougher on others, or 'realizing' the humanity/wisdom of an abusive entrepreneur seen as some kind of culture hero...
1
We should never forget that life is to be cherished. Tomorrow’s are not guaranteed, waking up is a gift.
I am glad your brother gave you informed accurate advice and you listened.
When death comes for us it doesn’t care who we are or what needs to be done that day. We need to take care of our bodies and realize that when we leave for work in the morning like the people who went to work on 9/11 we might not return home,
I can only hope that Mr. Perry’s family find comfort in knowing he had a full life even if was only 52 years and he created memories that will substain them at times when the grief becomes to much to bear.
5
I have practiced Oncology for 30 years, and the most important lesson I have learned from my patients is that life is short, it is precious, and we are all rushing to it's end at breakneck speed.
TJL
7
To put more of a point on this story, please tell us (1) how much you paid for your excellent treatment in Hong Kong, and (2) an estimate of how much you would have been out-of-pocket if it had happened in the US. Bonus points for (3) an estimate of the US cost had you been uninsured.
I expect these amounts:
(1) $0
(2) $6000
(3) $125,000
21
I started this article hoping to learn something about her ministroke and its after-effects. It was totally unhelpful. The title is just a springboard to talk about other things.
1
Nice headline.
TIAs aren't strokes though, they're warning signs just like angina isn't a heart attack.
Not walking on a long flight has nothing to do with TIAs, that would be blood clots in the legs (deep venous thrombosis or DVT) and pulmonary embolism. Ditto for hydration.
Hole in your heart? If that's the source of the clot in the brain, which would then properly be called an embolus instead of a clot, the cardiac ultrasound should have shown one of the chambers of your heart to be full of said clots.
Glad you're still around but you don't get to tweak medical facts to write your column.
7
@drdeanster
Having a hole in your heart where clots that formed can bypass the lungs and go directly to the brain is the probable cause
Kara's stroke happened in 2011. My hope is that she has made a full recovery by now. She has done us all a good deed by reminding us of the risk of stroke.
Her comments here about Steve Jobs are a bit puzzling. Jobs was an abusive, miserable man decades before he contracted the fatal illness that would eventually kill him. His treatment of his own daughter was unforgiveable.
7
Wow what a vivid story...Stroke symptoms are important to 50-somethings... even in affluent countries like the US...Men & Women, Black & White...
Thanks for revealing your close shave...
I survived 2 strokes 3 months apart. Do you have Factor IV Leiden? I'm thankful every day to be here.
@ Kara Swisher. Thank you for sharing this important piece.
We would like to note the following:
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 2009 definition of a transient ischemic attack (TIA) is "a transient episode of neurological dysfunction caused by focal brain ischemia without acute infarction (see link to citation below)." Because there was evidence of acute infarction on your MRI, as described in your story, you had a stroke and not a TIA. Additionally, the term mini-stroke is a generic term that should be used to indicate a small stroke. In summary a TIA is a red flag indicating that stroke may be imminent but is not in itself a stroke.
Tzvi Jonas, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine UMass Medical School
Bill Tosches, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology UMass Medical School
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19423857
13
You had me up till mentioning Steve Jobs.
He might have lived if he trusted modern medicine.
4
@Flower: Most people don’t, until it’s too late. Then blame doctors for not digging them out of their alternative medicine enclaves & treating them as they would an orphaned child.
Have weird symptoms, see doctor. Follow all instructions, even if they seem nonsense to you. Add alternative therapies if you wish, as long as they are not detrimental to your life. For many today the first treatment for a serious illness should be removal of the brain. Most people don’t use it anyway. Until that happens, many will die, for they only want treatments that 1. Don’t hurt. 2. Don’t make them change one thing in their lives. 3. Insurance will cover. Say no to any, & people stay away in droves.
Looking back in my 70s some things I believe have been helpful for me. This has been my advice to myself. Be a regular at the gym. Stretch, do aerobics, and use those weight machines. Increase the number of routine visits to my primary after 50 with lab tests. Follow the best advice on diet I can. Some of life's pathology is simply the luck of the draw, but some of it is under my control. Stay at the controls as best I can. That approach can be life saving and/or slow time's steady deterioration.
11
There is another outcome besides life or death. That is what happens when a CVA leaves the patient hopelessly paralyzed, unable to speak or care for themselves in any way, except to eat and breath and know where they are. This the real crises in the elderly who then need caregivers, 24/7. Find a spouse, also old and infirm, relatives who have their own lives, same for their children. Resources quickly disappear as do friends and relatives, unable physically or mentally to give the care needed. A Care Home, Long term care insurance are suboptimal options. A Caregiver a couple of hours a couple days a week is all that is offered leaving the patient in bed, incontinent, needing to be fed, never turning, bed sores, infections and finally pneumonia and death. Reminds me of End stage Renal disease before 1974 when Dialysis became covered by Medicare. What does Medicare offer for those described above? Not much. It is long past time to include this care in the M'Care program. Finance it by adding it to the Medicare tax as part of one's payroll with the same 80/20 benefit, the latter covered by a private Insurance for the 20% not covered by Medicare.Home care is the ideal, not warehousing in Care Homes. From my own experience with my wife for 5 years, it is amazing how much improvement can occur with proper care in both their physical capabilities, cognitive state and mental capabilities. The old person you previously knew is still locked in their brains waiting to come out.
8
This column could save lives.
Stroke awareness and the necessity of seeking IMMEDIATE medical care are likely the two most important steps that could save many lives.
WedMd has a list for a quick test people can use to see if someone is having a stroke:
"Use the FAST test to check for the most common symptoms of a stroke in yourself or someone else.
Face: Smile and see if one side of the face droops.
Arms: Raise both arms. Does one arm drop down?
Speech: Say a short phrase and check for slurred or strange speech.
Time: If the answer to any of these is yes, call 911 right away and write down the time when symptoms started."
From what I have read, acting fast does not guarantee a good outcome but not acting quickly with clear signs of a stroke would virtually assure a bad one.
I suppose, also, this is another reminder to everyone to have regular check-ups to monitor high blood pressure and other signs pointing to the potential for a stroke.
When I fly, particularly for longer distances, I take a children's aspirin before and during the flight and try to walk around as much as possible, although it is more difficult these days with crowded aircraft and constant concerns "security". It would be helpful if flight attendants were more aware of the necessity of movement to prevent blood pooling in the legs.
12
My father had a stroke last May--the day after unsuccessful surgery to remove kidney stones. A visiting nurse was checking on him at home since the surgeon released him with both internal stents and a barbaric tube still inserted and draining from his back. She realized she didn’t have all the correct paperwork but said she’d be back either later that day or the next day. Thank goodness she came back a few hours later and recognized that my father was having a stroke. My father left me voicemail that he was going to the hospital because the visiting nurse thought he was having a stroke. I asked my lunch guests, gee, can somebody call you when they are having a stroke? Nah, was the response, he isn’t having a stroke. Well, guess what, he was. And yes, you can call someone. And yes, you can dismiss those little signs (he had fallen earlier in the day when getting out of bed due to leg numbness; when he told my 90 year old mother that he thought he was having a stroke, she also said, nah, you aren’t having a stroke). Because he got to the hospital right away where they administered the miraculous tPA drug, and with many weeks of rehab, the effects of the stroke are now minimal. His fall earlier in the morning was most likely a kind of mini-stroke that led up to the more serious one a few hours later. It is important *not* to dismiss small signs, or not let others tell you to ignore small signs. If you think you are having a stroke, you need to get immediately to the ER.
24
@CJ Visiting nurses are special. I have seen them in action in a hospice situation. Contributing to them is a very worthy cause.
9
In Plato's "Phaedo," Socrates calls philosophy "practicing dying."Ms. Swisher's op-ed provides a thoughtful contemporary restatement of this ancient wisdom. Often misinterpreted as favoring death over this fallen life, it is rather a resounding impetus to the kind of questioning that belongs to a well-lived human life.
9
Medications can be very expensive as prevention for these and other conditions. The pharmacy department workers often ask, " Are you aware of the cost?" I am fortunate but so many are not.
There has to be a way to reduce drug costs for people to help save their own lives It is unfair for a person of limited means to have to make choices when health is involved.
11
I went to medical school as part of my desire to help people in my 40s. After spending another day sitting and studying, I too was hit by a Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT. This is the same item that started Kara Swisher's problem. A DVT forms in the veins within the leg due to lack of activity and is especially prominent with flights over 4 hours. Basically the blood starts to clot due to inactivity. Also certain people are more prone to DVTs, such as woman who are pregnant.
A person experiencing a DVT may feel pain in their calf or notice swelling in their feet or leg. The DVTs will normally go from the leg to the right side of the heart and block the blood flow into part of the lungs. This is called a Pulmonary Embolism or PE. This can create a dry cough if the clot is small. If the clot is large it can trigger a heart attack or Atrial Fibrillation.
Most DVTs don't cause strokes because there is normally no way for the clot to get to the brain. The exception is for those people who have a heart defect like Kara Swisher. The hole in her heart allowed the clot to go from the right side to the left side where it was pumped into the brain.
Passengers on any long flights need to get up and move every 30 minutes if possible. If you are going on a long flight frequently buy compression stockings. These stockings exert pressure on the leg to maintain normal blood flow and significantly reduce the chance of a DVT forming. They can save your life.
20
Being of an age where reminders of the prospect of impending death have occurred several times while entering ERs and being whisked off to rooms where your body is serviced with the efficiency of a NASCAR pit crew, there's a few observations I can share:
+ You are very unlikely to be considering how good a person you've been at that moment, in any event you can't do anything about just then.
+ To the extent that you live your life well and are kind to others, you do that because you should not because there's a potential benefit if things don't work out well in the ER.
Now as to strokes, it all has to do with the size of the clot and where it ends up. The extent to which blood flow is restricted then determines the damage and survival, something that is only established after drugs clear out the clot and has to do with many factors, age being one of them.
But be aware that in a study of 91,000 Medicare patients between 2003 and 2006, they found that nearly two-thirds who are discharged after having a stroke will die or be readmitted to the hospital within a year.
So, learn about the symptoms but as importantly do what you can to minimize the risks and, oh yes, be nice to each other.
6
My father also died from a stroke when I was young. It made me feel like I was living on borrowed time, and that I had to take care of myself - exercise and eat a healthy diet - so I could hopefully avoid the same fate. Thank you for sharing your experience and your emotions.
7
I can easily relate to this story, especially her statement: "And that is why the idea of death — the absolute nearness of it — has been ever-present for me. Since my dad died, I have lived my life as if I had no time at all or very little, making the kinds of choices of someone who knew that tomorrow might indeed be her last." Kara continues to be one of my most respected reporters on technology and related business.
I have survived three aortic aneurysm situations requiring endovascular stents and also had a condition requiring an angioplasty procedure (coronary stents) noticed by my son, who is an interventional cardiologist who does this procedure (but not on family members). Call me stentman.
Essentially I would not be writing this post today were it not for modern medical technology - encompassing both diagnostic imaging and corrective procedures.
Every day is a blessing and hope I can watch my grandchildren grow up over the next few years.
8
I am 39. Had a stroke 2 months ago with pretty much the same symptoms that Kara had plus paralysis on my right side. I also had a large PFO that was "fixed" 3 weeks ago. Absolutely the scariest thing in my life. I appreciate everyone's comments and sharing his/her story. I am wondering how many had a PFO diagnosed as well and if they got it fixed?
Thanks
Mark
7
@Melissa/Mark, I found out about my PFO (patent foramen ovale) after a mild stroke last year. My only remaining symptoms are parasthesia and loss of fine motor in my left hand and numbness in left half of my face. As a 64-year old heart attack survivor with subsequent heart damage, I am not a good candidate for a PFO repair. I take an anticoagulant daily, stay hydrated, eat clean, and exercise. Hopefully, these measures will prevent future clots. I'm glad you had your PFO fixed and wish you a long, healthy, stroke-free life.
1
Thanks Kara. A good reminder for all of us.
5
I’d like to know what type of stroke Mr. Perry had. Sadly I know from experience with my Dad that there are two major types. Those caused by a clot or a piece of plaque that’s traveled up from the carotid artery, or those that are hemorrhagic i.e. caused by a brain bleed (sometimes the result of high blood pressure). So far, every article I’ve read and heard is focusing on what to do if you have symptoms of a stroke in progress but nothing about prevention.In my father’s case, he’d had a clot that came from his carotid. He was slim, non smoker, low cholesterol so not predictable from risk stats;we later found out that he’d been experiencing tingling in both hands but had ignored these symptoms. A simple Doppler ultrasound of carotid could have discovered this. Everyone should have this test. His stroke was terribly debilitating. He lost total left side movement and developed dementia, totally disrupted his life and that of my mother my family, needed nursing home, caused significant financial drain. I also felt that his cardiologist missed hearing bruits (pronounced brewies) in his carotid.Those are sounds heard with a stethoscope that indicate obstructed blood flow. Your doctor should be listening to your carotid at every well checkup.His doctor had significant hearing loss. I feel we need to learn more about screening & prevention. In a way it is fortunate Luke did survive, because living with major stroke sequellae is so devastating.
6
This is a good story telling people don't miss any small sign of imminent danger. I installed a second stent last year after I went through a stress test showing no sign of any problem. Then not too long after, I felt tight and hard to breath when I was walking in a cold weather. Went to see my cardiologist who immediately arrange a catheter operation in the adjacent hospital. One of my main artery was 90% blocked. He told me that if I didn't see him at that time, I would be in a very big trouble.
3
Heart health is most important! Seeing a cardiologist should be a routine part of preventive health.My afibrillation was found by accident during another procedure. There are meds and procedures that help although nothing is a panacea . None of us is getting out alive so its up to us to make our lives meaningful.
3
'Basically, you all don’t have the time to be so careless in what you do and I don’t have the time to not ask you about it.' We each have as much time as we will have, and we may make our own decisions as to our behaviors and choices. The concept of another person telling me I am doing my life wrong is merely entertaining. I may appreciate their intent, of course.
1
@bill, Have a life-threatening event and you may change your mind.
1
At the age of 68 the day after my wife's 67th birthday, I was watching tv. At about 9:30 I experienced terrific pain behind my eyes. I took two Tylenol and went to bed. When I awoke the next morning, a stroke had hit me during the night. My wife rushed me to the ER and I went though an array of tests, an MRI included and they found where the stroke had occurred.
In the mean time the doctors all asked how could I possibly go to bed while a stroke was occurring. I mentioned that while I knew the symptoms for a heart attack, I knew nothing about stroke symptoms.
While under the care of a neurologist, he detected what seemed to be a blockage in my Basilar artery.
He sent me to Jefferson hospital in Philly. I was diagnosed with an 85% stenosis. A stent was inserted which reduced the stenosis to about 50%.
I was very lucky in the entire episode including the stent procedure. That was 8 and 1/2 years ago and I know what the symptoms are for a stroke.
11
Years ago while walking our dogs mid-morning in Toronto’s High Park, I ran into a large and incredibly diverse group of people setting up a picnic. From children to seniors, every age group and ethnicity were present; a few appeared mildly disabled, others not a bit. While the diversity was hardly unusual for Toronto, their joy and camaraderie was. When I asked them what they did to deserve a day off, they all laughed as one replied, “We all had strokes!” I’m still laughing, and still in awe of their zest for life, and for the knowledge that it can all be taken away so quickly.
23
Noted in Kara's article that she has blood "more prone to clotting". While not sure what that may be, there is a known blood factor : Lipoprotein(a), which is a "stickier" LDL and can contribute to stroke potential/heart attacks. It is a genetic factor and does not show up in standard blood tests. Must be specifically tested for lipo(a). Celebrity Trainer "Bob Harper" shared his story. Thank-you Ms. Swisher-
3
This “deja vu” article caught my eye. Twenty one years ago I was dropped to the floor while examining a patient from my PFO and neighboring ASA causing paradoxical flow coupled with a high level of anticardiolipin antibodies ( which can cause hypercoagulability ). Before that time I would have been thrown into the category of “cryptogenic” strokes ( no discernible cause), but research of women with multiple miscarriages had turned up the link between anticardiolipin antibodies and stroke. Coupled with the the relatively new procedure of an esophageal echocardiogram ( for a better look at your heart), I had a diagnosis and preventative path.
There have been changes to the suggested treatments for these conditions over the last two decades . Medicine is never static- that is the caveat- and new information is always ascendent, but that should not dissuade the readers from seeking and putting to use our best present treatments.
Now we need to assure that as many of our citizens as possible have access to our best medical practices by developing a universal care system for the US. A major reason for bad outcomes in stroke patients is their hesitancy to seek immediate care due to financial concerns. And, finally, we, as physicians, must persuade patients that good science is good science: Get your children immunized for measles !
21
Me too. Blood mutation that causes clotting. For me lots of little strokes that lead cognitive decline and disability. Fought hard to recover. Am by no means back to health but am remarkably better due to great medical intervention.
9
I had a stroke and lived. A year or so later and 20 pounds lighter, I'm still fighting my way back but occasional speech problems surface sometimes. . Luckily my employer stuck by me, we're a small firm.
It took more than two hours to get medical help, I was in rural Georgia. I was 64 when it happened.
12
Thank you, Kara. We are among the truly fortunate. We have a family member as our medical advisor, excellent health care, and the ability to make choices in our lives . Luxuries denied to most of the world.
My 'wake up call' was 95% blockage of the coronary artery called the "Widow Maker". At 57, I narrowly missed a fatal heart attack because I had good advice and acted quickly.
My life changed dramatically as a result. Death is our next door neighbor, Kara, and we can no longer deny that fact. Our lives are sweeter because we must come to terms with our mortality.
11
@elained
I am in exactly the same position as you (LAD, 95% blockage, access to superior medical care). We are blessed. I am glad you are well. Kudos to Kara for the column.
5
Time is truly the issue. Having survived a hemorrhagic stroke. I can attest to it.
I was in the emergency room in less than an hour and consider myself extremely lucky.
I still have stiffness and difficulty going down stairs but all in, things could be infinitely worse.
3
I live like I could die any day too, but unlike Steve Jobs I prioritize the people around me and just generally enjoying life. If today was my last day and I could reflect on it somehow, yes, I was right to sit around in pajamas and read the news while I sipped coffee, and my kids still remember me fondly and are well-adjusted because I took time to be kind and patient with them and let them know they counted. Could Jobs say that? No, he can remember the iPhone. Great.
19
I wish I had at least the common sense to realize what was happening to my mother while I was there yet.
She would be alive today and not one day goes by that I don't hold myself responsible for it.
5
@GlennS
Please do not beat yourself up over your hesitancy to stridently intervene .
Symptoms are hard to define as serious sometimes ,because we have an active responsive nervous system and feel transient sensations like tingling and cramps and nerve pain all our lives that isn’t dangerous just within normal limits .
My heart aches for your loss and sadness.
31
@Glenn S. Forgive yourself!
6
@Glenn S., Don't take on that burden. You could have done everything right and she would have still died.
5
Thank you Kara!
Last year I lost my good eyesight and thought my TV had broken ;and that was why I was seeing two of you being interviewed by two of Mika and Joe!
For a year ,after being admitted to a hospital to undergo the same testing and intervention u had stat!I finally learned my TIA wasn’t a stroke !!!
Indeed .... I have a 6th Cranial Nerve Meningioma!!’
The thing has apparently been there unnoticed by many Radiologist since at least 2015 when I spent weeks battling similar symptoms as u had.
The strange facial and extremity sensations. The ignoring of the obvious. Worse I am a retired nurse and teacher. So I experienced the “ denial” I would counsel my clients against when they felt abnormal events.
I share because everything Kara has shared is spot on!
Death is the teacher and we scuttle around making big messes running from it until .....
15
There are strokes and then there are strokes.
Some are massive; some not so much. My aunt survived a stroke with no treatment and few limitations. It was a stroke, not a TIA.
My mother on the other hand had a stroke that hit her brain stem and she died almost instantly and she was in the hospital as a patient when it attacked. So please don't compare yourself to Perry or wonder what he was thinking.
Having said that, it is very important to get to the hospital immediately.
17
Thanks for sharing the story. Educational, and not just because I 'didn't know what "obstreperous" meant.
8
In my case it was not a stroke or a TIA but it was in my brain, strictly speaking. At age 6, it was polio.
I was giving an ultimate wake-up call about the precariousness of life and the gift we receive of the chance to experience the joys of the world as we pass through it.
I would like to think I have not wasted the opportunity. Thank you, Ms. Swisher, for the reminder.
6
I appreciate that the sentiment to "seize the day" can be encouraged by the shocking experience of any significant personal health crisis, but I am disappointed that it might also motivate sufferers to become "tougher" on other people, family or others.
In my own experience, the recognition of personal frailties has engendered what I hope may be a more compassionate reaction to people near and far. After being presented with unavoidable evidence that "that could never happen to me" is not a justifiable view, it's only a short step to trying to understand why we all get so many things wrong and accept that we are flawed in many ways.
Different horses for different courses I suppose. And that's fine too!
11
Glad you are still here and able to write this.
The next step in the prevention of such things is a proper helathcare system in these United States that not only promotes wellness and treats disease but takes a full inventory of family history and risk factors into account. Given your family history, for example, one should not wait until something happens to consult a physician.
I was pummelled on another page of this paper when I stated that a man of his age should not die this way by replies listing the many ways people at that age could have a stroke. They all missed my point: that a true healthcare system with an emphasis on wellness system could prevent much of this. Patients should not find out about a problem only after it has done damage and that is where our very expensive system is failing.
Big data can do far more than predict traffic flows. Big data, rightly applied and in a timely manner, can greatly reduce the likelihood of your TIA. We should all be able to sit down with our primary Physician and give a full medical history and get a thorough examination while we are young and healthy so that we can make timely changes and interventions- if necessary- for a healthy life.
Be well.
24
@David Gregory
Agree with you about the need for a healthcare system that provides long term tracking of our health by competent, caring doctors.
I had such a doctor, a General Practioner they were called back in the day, who cared for our family from my age of six until I left for college. He practiced medicine.
Now, I survive the nonsense of a healthcare system which practices billing and form-filling. And five different "Primary Care Physicians" in seven years. Medicine? Not so much.
Don't get sick. Die quick.
10
@David Gregory
Big data is unfortunately being used to tell people no and extract more money from them. Actuarial assumptions running riot.
2
Your last sentence made me tear up: “Well, I guess, but not if you are lucky enough to have a brother who saved your life.” Those few encapsulates the true love siblings have. I have it for my own sisters, even though there is strain between us. And don’t forget, you abided by his long-distance prescription at a time when you were busy with Very Important Things. You survived to write about it years later in a powerful medium; hopefully, others will read and take your experience to heart, even if, like most of us, there is no competent physician’s phone number in our Contacts list.
20
Glad you are okay for now, Kara!
3
This article is beautifully written and infused with love. Certainly the best thing I've gotten from my morning read of the Times for a while. Not the Time's fault that there is so little love or even tolerance in our political world today.
13
Kara,
Persuading you to bail on your important conference to go to the emergency room must have seemed harder to your brother than learning everything in medical school that predicted the consequences of your symptoms.
The future is different from the past when humans are convinced to choose the unexpected. That’s what made Jobs exceptional.
9
So an MRI discovered I had had an ischemic stroke, sometime. No symptoms, doctor had no idea when (who knows, perhaps in utero). Never smoked, did drugs, no high blood pressure, no family history, no heart problems, not overweight, exercise lifelong, vegetarian, nada.
This does set me up subsequent strokes which is not mentioned in this article. Baby aspirin recommendation. Doctor added a statin which made me ache so much I stopped exercising so I quit and went back to exercise.
An article on ischemic strokes as a class would be useful. The range of symptoms or lack of. I keep wondering if I missed one tho if in utero not very useful. For once it was all my head tho.
5
@poslug
Smart move to stop the statin, poslug. I didn't pay attention or connect the statin with the pain, and now I can't walk a quarter mile before my legs cramp up and ache. Looks like I'm stuck with it for life.
Well put and very kind of you to share. I noticed the news cycle was seemingly starting to move towards questioning whether there were substance abuse issues with out saying it outright. People can, and do have strokes. The loss of Luke is sad enough, no need for us to pry or make implications.
Thank you for reminding us that this can happen to any of us, and for the important life (and health) lesson.
12
I knew a man who was 59, seemed physically fit. He had a stroke while in his car. His wife drove to a hospital with a sign that said "neurologist on staff." Even though it was in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, their neurologist wasn't there. She could have taken him to another hospital a little farther away or the hospital she took him to could have transferred him. He wasn't treated in time and ended up severely disabled.
8
Thank you Kara (and her brother Jeff) for this eloquent reminder that bad things can happen to good people at anytime, anywhere. This is not to say we should live in fear, but we should live aware of different possibilities. Years ago, when I was a first year medical student, I got a call from my favorite aunt. She told me that she was going to see her “eye doctor” because of some unusual visual symptoms she was having. I listened carefully and then told her she needed to go to the ER STAT. It turned out that she had advanced atherosclerosis of her carotid artery and was having what Kara had...a transient ischemic attack. Thanks to a quick surgical intervention, she had a good outcome. Got weird symptoms? Pay attention. Don’t wait. Tell someone...preferably a doctor, a nurse, or even a med student.
15
Perhaps more lives could be saved if we were better informed by the medical corps of the precipitating causes (in Ms Swisher's case, a recent long flight) and the symptoms of a potential stroke or thrombosis.
I had written off the sparks and flashing lights in my field of vision as a sign of fatigue, or at worst, a possible detached retina as I am quite myopic. The eye doctor in France noted my optic nerve was under pressure, ordered a rush MRI in Paris. Upon receiving the analysis, he sent me back to Paris for emergency treatment without a minute to lose. Ended up on an IV drip for two weeks to dissolve a thrombosis of the vein of aligning the optic nerve of one eye.
Conclusion : if I had simply written off my painless visual anomalies as a sign of fatigue, I would have lost my eyesight or possibly my life had the clot migrated elsewhere in my body.
16
Excellent PSA for the watchful waiters among us who are generally disinclined to seek help. Thank you for sharing your story, and making near-death entertaining no less.
10
Same here, except after an on and off ungodly headache, I collapsed in a hotel lobby. A few minutes earlier and I would have collapsed alone in my hotel room, where housekeeping would have found me lifeless hours later when I failed to check out.
Please— if you ever get a horrendous headache or any other symptoms, call an ambulance. If I could do over one thing in my life, I would go to a hospital immediately due to the severity of the headache. That might have saved me from a ruptured aneurysm, my near death, and all that followed.
26
It is quite disturbing that while a crucial area of medicine very few medical students choose to go into neurology. It take many years of training and every case is complex. The amount of time performing detailed examinations, review of imaging and treatment options for stroke and dementia patients can be hours and there is simply no reimbursement for this time so neurologists are some of the lowest paid physicians in our hospital. There are severe shortages of this field in our region. Our hospital even tried to recruit a full time neurologist from the university but cannot afford to pay even one because they complain they take too long with patients and don't "see volume." Perhaps insurance companies will change the way physicians are paid and place much more value on complex diagnosis and time with patients than on procedures and surgeries and you will have the best and brightest students going into the neurology field.
45
@Michael Going to medical school is so expensive. There should be ways the best and brightest can get their education and become doctors. Who deserves it more than a doctor who perhaps can save lives.
7
Kara
Thank you for your article and for sharing your thoughts. Your story resonated deeply with me.
The day before my 60th birthday I was told that I had multiple serious heart issues. One of those relatively minor issues was A Fib, which can cause stroke. I am a non-smoker, 11 times marathoner (Boston, New York, Chicago, Portland etc etc) and did not fit the profile of someone with heart problems.
Part of the treatment for A Fib is to do a cardioversion. There, under sedation, they use electrical paddles to try to jolt your heart back into a regular rhythm. You probably have seen the scene on TV.
The second cardioversion induced a stroke that night despite being on anti-coagulation meds.
Walking in the middle of the night to the sensation that your arm, your voice and your body is no longer under your control is frightening.
I am fortunate. I was minutes from an ER. I recovered. I am still trying to fully learn the lesson that this experience is still teaching me. Life has changed. I value the time with those I love deeply.
But most of all I am every aware of the fact that I came very close to dying or living with some physical and mental capabilities forever gone.
Life is a gift. Make the most of it.
53
@David J Bilinsky Amen!
Me too. It’s two years since a SVH stroke. I was 71.I’m never going to be the same but my cognitive skills are still ok.
11
Thank you my fellow warrior/survivor sister — I survived an ischemic stroke in October, 2012. I felt every word, every thought put into this beautiful essay. And thank you for reminding us to LIVE FULLY. I have minimal visible outward signs of having had a stroke, so people tend to think it’s not so “serious”. In addition to sharing stroke resources and supporting other survivors, like you I find myself checking people hard when they squander time or resources. Every day is a new gift to open, folks! Sidebar: To everyone reading this, please remember the sign for stroke: F. A. S. T. (Face/Arms/Speech/Time).
29
@Alish
AND sudden severe headache with no known cause. That was my only symptom, and my hemorrhagic stroke nearly killed me.
11
@Lawyermom yes, that’s an important symptom to add, that many are unaware of. So glad you’re still here too my fellow warrior/survivor sister. Bless you.
8
This is a beautiful essay. Kara, you took away exactly the right lessons from your walk to the edge. Twenty-four years ago, my esophagus spontaneously ruptured and I got very sick very fast. This is an event so rare most doctors will never see it in their lifetimes. Unless it is treated quickly, the chances of death increase exponentially. I won’t go into the details here, but after three operations and five weeks in the hospital, I made it. Life has been good after that, fantastic, in fact. But it is different than it otherwise would have been. Since then I’ve tried to remain radically focused on the present, but also know that it can all vaporize in an instant. Death is now a constant companion but not an especially scary one. He’s always there now, gently reminding me to live in the now.
44
Had virtually the same event 10 years ago after a flight to LA. At the risk of reading Ms. Swisher’s story as my own, my take on her story is that the clot that went through her PFO broke off from a larger clot that was deep vein thrombosis (which occurs in your leg). The “type” of blood that makes one susceptible to a DVT is a protein S deficiency, at least that was the case for me. She appears to have been lucky that she did not have a pulmonary embolism since clots would nearly automatically go to the lungs. I had one in each lung in addition to the stroke. That said, I was extremely lucky; my only long term effect is epilepsy, which can be controlled by medication. So thanks for listening.
A few precautions: for any long distance flight, get up at least once every two hours (more frequently if you can) — deep knee bends and stretching. Drink a fair amount of water, no alcohol and try to avoid caffeine. If you’re really worried, ask your doctor to check your protein s at your next visit and if deficient ask for a prescription blood thinner for long flights. (Lovenox; heparin). BTW, my cardiologist said not to worry about the PFO; 25 percent of the population has one (extrapolating from studies).
16
First, please understand there are many types of strokes. It has not been reported what type of stroke Mr. Perry suffered and died from. Therefore Ms. Swisher is likely comparing apples and oranges. The symptoms of a stroke are the same but the cause can be vastly different. One type, an arterial is blocked suddenly, either from a local event in the artery or from material traveling in the blood stream from a remote site like the heart. The other type is a ruptured blood vessel and sudden bleeding in the brain. But most importantly if you have these symptoms call 911 or go to the ED immediately, let them diagnose and treat as it's not a simple disease, Stroke is a symptom and not an etiology.
39
@Dr. While you are technically correct, I think the main thrust of the essay was to say that she also could have died had she not heeded to he brother's advice.
12
@RaVi Kiran K My comment was meant to explain that the author of the essay was not in a life threatening situation as the cause of her TIA, which technically is not a stroke, was different then the unfortunate MR Perry. The treatment and prognosis is different for the different etiologies of a stroke.
3
Realizing you had "the privilege of more days and the awareness that those days would be limited" makes you pretty smart; listening to your brother the doctor makes you even smarter, and very lucky.
I can't understand how some fail to get the gist of your column, and feel a need to criticize.
I appreciate your honesty and wisdom. I sure hope you call your brother on his birthday, just because he's your brother. And obviously a fine doctor.
44
I loved Luke Perry on 90210 and was so sad to hear that he died. If news stories about the details of his death helps other people by raising awareness of stroke symptoms or by stopping for a moment to appreciate what they have, that is arguably beneficial although a little untoward in the "Thank God not me" sense. There is no suggestion in any story I have read that he could have been saved by a better medical response or by being a better person. The inevitable push to discover/analyze whatever his risk factors might have been like smoking or diet may have been gives people the false sense of reassurance that if they don't have the same behaviors, they have more control over their own death, and can use that information as a way to mitigate the sadness of someone else's death by blaming them. In the end, when it's your time to go, you go. If you get a second chance, you value it. When someone you love goes, continue to appreciate them and love them.
15
@LinVA
Even medical professionals assumed I smoked, had hypertension, or as time went on, had been obese. Upon being told none of the above applied to me, the go-to gotcha response was “family history”. As an adoptee, I have no family history.
I reached the conclusion that no one wants to believe it can happen to them, so they blame the victim.
26
Kara,
Thank you for this important message.
May I recommend a wonderful one-woman play created by a wise friend in SF, Diane Barnes MD.
She wrote and performs in "My Stroke of Luck," based on her experiences working through her own stroke in mid-adulthood, managing both teenage sons and the healthcare system, which, being a practicing physician, she assumed she knew how to navigate. She was lucky to enough to find her way to a new life. May others be so lucky.
17
The many stories from survivors are, when added to the writer's own story, pretty convincing : if you (or someone you are with) have the symptoms (FAST) call an ambulance, make sure your door is unlocked, and get to the hospital.
9
I suffered a brain bleed stroke four years ago. I was relatively young (54), fit, and healthy. I appreciate your nod to the somewhat unlikable Steve Jobs, and the critics that bray at your no nonsense questions. I recovered (fully) but my encounter with the grim reaper did not make me a nicer person, if niceness is to be measured in gentle manners and cordiality. Death did grant me permission to take possession of my days, and pencil out, without regret, any thing and anyone who didn't bring deep resonance and joy to my life. This included members of my family whom I had struggled with all my life, hoping for some deus ex machina arrival of good spirits. Because of death I chose to make my world much smaller, a tiny ring of meaningful things. In her recent book Akiko Bush writes about "How To Disappear." Amidst a world of apparently infinite intrusion, Death brought me the daring gift of becoming more invisible.
111
Thank you for reminding us that life is precious. Events like this are great teachers if, given a second chance, we listen.
19
Other lessons to take away are:
1. Stay hydrated! Especially on long haul trans oceanic flights and,
2. Move your body! Walk often up and down the aisles on long flights,
3. Aspirin therapy will help to keep the blood thin.
17
@Kathryn Boussemart
Not a fan of medical advice in the comments section:
While Aspirin is great to prevent thrombosis, it exacerbates hemorrhagic stroke.
58
I was treated for a brain injury after a hit and run by a careless driver. If the lesson of this article is the value of life and living it, we cannot be grateful only for our own, but for others', from those who don't have the same access to health care to those unjust victims of our judicial system that waste years incarcerated.
20
Brushes with mortality affect different people differently. I hardly ever feel that being hard on people is worth the suffering, theirs or mine. There are usually (but not always) other ways to get the job done. That being said, I do appreciate Ms Swisher's work and increasingly, I look out for it.
13
Time is Brain. Aged 48 I had a Grade 5 SAH ruptured brain aneurysm survivor that left me permanently disability. I have met teens; toddlers who have survived strokes. Literally in a heartbeat I had a 200 ml bleed on my brain
Please if you have even the slightest stroke symptoms go to the ER.
36
Though I’m glad you got help—I’m almost certain Luke Perry died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage—not an ischemic strike which often leads to disability and not death.
Your article has nothing to do with Luke’s death. Although not inevitable, a hemorrhagic stroke occurs at a certain level of intensity and from my understanding the best neurosurgeons and emergency medicine personnel can provide the best care—but if the intensity level is too great then getting help immediately doesn’t necessarily change the outcome.
You are comparing apples and oranges.
15
Hemorrhagic stroke took my fiancé from me. He was 51.
1
The moral of this story: Choose your Parents well. And for those denigrating her story, I appreciated it. Anything that brings awareness to the general public, and perhaps saves lives, is useful. Lighten up.
Thank you, Ms. Swisher.
77
Thanks Kara - after being diagnosed with melanoma and then being free of it I can’t tell you how many parallels we share in our thinking (my kids 5 and 7 at the time). This was wonderful and wise and certainly a reminder of what’s important.
26
I too had a stroke under similar circumstances, and was ultimately diagnosed with a hole in the heart in 2003. A PFO closure was done and I experienced no problems until about five years ago, when I again had a second event. While laying in the hospital bed googling strokes on my phone I discovered a study of PFO closures that basically concluded no improvement in stroke prevention for those patients who had the hole in the heart closed. My cardiologist informed that the PFO closures have been found to produce little or no improvement in outcome versus controls. My Doc did detect atrial fibrillation on an infrequent basis, and I now take blood thinners religiously to prevent throwing a clot from my heart during these events. I will soon be 71 and I am in good shape having survived two stroke events in 16 years. Be cautious of the efficacy of the PFO closure procedure. Remember that the medical profession "practices" medicine, and treatment protocols change with new information.
27
@kevin cummins I'm sorry about your second event, after the closure of the PFO. My husband had a stroke at age 42. They discovered a PFO and he became a subject in a study to close the hole with a new type of device. As we understand it, the device was highly successful in preventing additional strokes in the group. Although I seem to recall that once you have a stroke you are at risk for having another and the PFO closure just reduces the risk. It's been 7 years with no incident. My husband was incredibly lucky. He had a severe stroke that, as the doctors told us, would have incapacitated an older or unhealthier man.
5
@Kristin Like i said in my comment, I went approximately, 10 years after my PFO closure without a re-occurence, so I was shocked that I had a repeat minor stroke thinking that the PFO closure had solved my problem. After wearing a heart monitor for a month, my MD spotted a single event of atrial fibrillation measured while I was sleeping. Since then I have been on blood thinners and I have had no problems. I will be 71 this month and I am in good physical condition for my age.
1
I wonder about other possible links to and causes of strokes such as atrial fibrillation (AF), especially the more recently recognized silent AF which is largely asymptomatic. And also the possible connection of AF (and of stroke) to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). One in five adults have mild OSA and nearly one in fifteen have moderate to severe OSA - and many of these folks are undiagnosed and untreated. And, although less common, you do not have to be overweight to have severe OSA. Wish more resources can be directed here.
9
@scpa I went to my cardiologist a week ago due to having skipped heat beat sensations in my chest and he ordered a Holter monitor which I have to pick up this week to test for Atrial Fibrillation. The EKG he did last week didn't pick up AFib but he decided to monitor me for about 5 days to be sure. I then have to have an stress test in about 2 weeks to further check things out.
I have a family history of early heart attack, lost my dad to one 37 years ago.
3
Excellent piece. I didn't realize that even if everything looks ok, it's possible that a stroke is occurring or has occurred.
The thing is, as with heart attacks, it's embarrassing to show up in the ER and made to feel like a hypochondriac because everything checks out as A-OK. Reading this reminds us all that it really is better to call 911 and deal with the the nghtmare of ERs -- because that's where early intervention can prevent or mitigate stroke.
56
@Valerie Brys I was once sent to the ER by my employee health because they thought i might be having a heart attack. I was so reluctant to go and waste people's time as I was sure I was fine. I received excellent, immediate and thorough care and though everything checked out fine nobody once made me feel bad for being there. It made me look at things differently and as someone who works in an ICU and sees the difference moments can make, I don't think I'll hesitate on going in if in any doubt again.
8
A month ago, I conversed with a Gen-X'er who said to me:
"It's a curious thing about Baby Boomers. Whenever you tell them someone died, they always switch the topic to their own past health issues. If you tell them Steve Jobs died, they will hijack the conversation and talk about a near fatal aneurysm they had while, say, snorting coke in the 1980s."
Today, I shared Kara Swisher's column with my Gen-X friend. We both enjoyed it immensely. Great stuff.
8
@Sándor all older people (Boomers and Silent Generation) do that. And my husbands Gen X kids do that too. The younger people have not experienced it yet - but as soon as they do they will engage in the behavior you described.
It is not a boomer thing, it is an age thing.
7
@Sándor Ah, one day they too will be old and swapping stories of their medical mishaps and maladies. Enjoy the giggles while you can, kids.
2
What makes you think this is peculiar to baby boomers? I’ve heard such stories from people of every generation. It is simply a human trait to make sense of events by citing one’s own experiences.
2
Rest in peace, Luke Perry
I always shamelessly stole his iconic answering message, "You know the drill."
Strangely enough, after his death from a tragic stroke it seems somewhat prescient.
4
Not often I tear up from a column. Glad you made it, Kara.
22
Kara,
An opinion piece I found worth reading; twice.
20
The author is very lucky that the hospital she went to in Hong Kong gave her an MRI. When I was out of the country in London, I had a TIA with similar symptoms to that of the author, but because they subsided in a few minutes, the emergency dispatcher wouldn't send an ambulance so I had to take an Uber to the hospital, and the ER wouldn't do an MRI. They prescribed aspirin, but nothing else.
Luckily, I survived and made it back to the US, where I got a full workup a few days after the incident. Of course, one never should fly within a few days of a TIA, but it was a calculated risk since I was getting no care in Britain.
29
Here in the USA, you would not have necessarily gotten an MRI either. In the ER at hospitals that are not specialized on stroke care, they usually do a cat scan first, which does not show symptoms of a stroke until much later.
11
Actually - most ers do CTAs now that show us clot in the cerebral vessels. (I’m an ER doc in the states). Some of the smaller/older hospitals may not have the ability, but most do.
8
@Leonardo At a top Bay Area hospital my hemorrhagic stroke was misdiagnosed as a migraine, and I was sent home with anti-nausea medication. My husband brought me back a second time and had to demand that I be given a spinal tap. When the doctor saw the blood in my spinal fluid her first words were "Oh, my God." Mistakes happen everywhere.
16
My father almost died from a stroke when he was in his mid-fifties. I had to almost yell at him to call an ambulance and not wait until the morning. The author is absolutely spot on: just because you don't fit the profile doesn't mean you won't have a stroke. It's in the name: Strokes strike (!) suddenly, and often without any prior signs or warnings. But, regardless of all that, time is of the essence; firstly to safe the patient's life, but also to minimize the extent of the damage and prevent follow-on strokes. Last, but not least, especially younger and otherwise healthy patients are often excellent candidates for treatment with clot busters (enzymes that dissolve blot clots), but that treatment can only minimize the damage if it's used shortly after a stroke, and requires exclusion of a wet stroke (bleed) which also takes 15-20 minutes.
So, whether you have a strong headache or not, if you suddenly develop so-called neurological deficits, such as you can't move a hand or a limb, loss of touch and feeling, sudden changes in speech or vision - call or have someone call 911. Right away. Time is not on your side.
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Thank you Ms Swisher for your essay. As a stroke neurologist I can add that the best way to reduce one's risk of stroke is to deal with the modifiable risk factors: reduce your blood pressure starting with increasing your activity with a focused exercise program. Stop smoking. Reduce the amount of carbohydrates and red meat in your diet, lose weight (see above), treat your diabetes if you have it.
If you experience the symptoms of a stroke call 911. There are effective treatments that can "cure" a stroke but they must be employed as soon as possible; within hours of onset of symptoms.
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Whenever I see someone this young die from a stroke or heart attack I want to know: what was their diet? What did they eat? What did they do for exercise/movement? What did the inside of their arteries look like? If it is even possible to get these details and include them in the story, I believe it can help save lives by illustrating the effects of diet and exercise.
9
@Scott: It is not possible to avoid death by attaining perfection in diet and exercise. It is not even possible to push it back by an hour by that method, if one's body has the right (wrong) kind of built-in flaw.
The Personal Responsibility meme assumes that every illness illustrates the sufferer's exercise and dietary sins. That causes much unnecessary stress and guilt.
Treating oneself well is good, of course. But requiring exercise and dietary perfection of oneself and others is, in truth, an example of treating oneself (and them) poorly.
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@Scott: At the age of 48 I suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke. I was (and remain) a runner who paid exceptional attention to my diet and health. I’m now 55 and, by the grace of God, suffered no lasting ill effects from the stroke. Sometimes it’s got nothing to do w/ how well (or not) one takes care of oneself.
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@Scott At age 59, after a lifetime of robust health, I had a heart attack on the Brooklyn Bridge while in the middle of a 4 mile run. I had been experiencing shortness of breath and an irritation I had been feeling in my chest when I made the slightest exertion. I ignored this and continued going to the gym daily and running my 30 miles a week.
I was in excellent shape, total cholesterol <150, Low BP, a 32" waist. My diet was mostly organic, no processed foods, yada, yada, yada.
I felt like I had a volcano that was erupting in my chest.
I never called 911; I walked to the hospital, one mile, in the dark - and it was raining!
Several days later I had a sextuple bypass. And a year later, new blockage and angioplasty. And pneumonia twice since.
But I was seriously remiss in ignoring the warning signs and wanting to be some sort of hero by walking all the way to the hospital.
I could have been a dead one.
All this to say:
1 - Say yes to the best diet and exercise routines you can. Every doctor said that I survived because of the shape I was in. Today I am a very healthy and youthful-looking 65.
2 - Listen to your body. Don't try to rationalize symptoms, especially neurological ones.
3 - Don't let your ego get in the way. I did. I really skirted the edge. I made some less-then-intelligent choices back then.
At least today I know better.
I hope.
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Best wishes for your continued good health and cogency...
But you touch on something about US health care that drives me bat-crazy...
The data gridlock that the US IT industry – no names named – has aided and abetted in the US health care industry is beyond the pale...
They’d have you believe that how well you centered your car in the parking space at the oncology center correlates with the stage of your cancer...
It may – but there’re often far more fundamentally causal connections and correlations...
As I understand things, incompletely-closed congenital holes-in-hearts aren’t that uncommon...
Since blood not been cleansed of small clots by filtering through the lungs can get to the brain, the chances of a stroke – and that it’s a block rather than a bleed – have got to be higher for this cohort...
Holes-in-hearts probably could be diagnosed by an AI-aided stethoscope – even though I’d prefer annual full-body 3T MRIs...
https://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/a-smart-stethoscope-puts-ai-in-medics-ears
But having watched askance as the industry blocked ingestible cameras and continuous glucose monitors for decades...
I’d often think: “What Would Steve Jobs Do”
Well, battling (an islet cell variant of) pancreatic cancer for several years while making a final trillion-dollar dent in the universe likely took up most of his time...
Today, often think: “What is Jonathan Rothberg doing”
Every so often, I watch one of Steve’s elevator speeches on YouTube again...
3
Thank you, Kara.
As someone who was downsized out of a start-up purchased by another start-up in December and trying to weed out another poorly-managed get-rich-quick scheme out of the expense of my health in Silicon Valley, I’m grateful for this article and for your podcast guest interviews. My mother passed away from breast cancer when she was six years older than I am now, and this article reminded me of the important things in my life path, both in work and in passion.
Bless you, and good health.
22
Ms Swisher mentions that she has 'a type of blood that is more prone to clotting'. I wonder if it is the same type as mine - my stem cells make too many platelets (essential thrombocytosis). At 48 my blood test results were normal; two year later though, I had a dangerously high platelet count. If I had not been warned through a routine blood test it is likely that I too would have had a stroke. Luckily there are drug treatments (with low side effects) that can bring one's platelets back down to safer levels. Anyone in their late 40s would be well advised to get annual blood tests.
13
More people need to learn to recognize the symptoms of a stroke -- and more importantly, to realize the importance of time. We need to think of it with the same urgency as having a heart attack: get to an emergency room immediately and the doctors may be able to save your life and hopefully your quality of life.
With ischemic strokes in particular, if you get to a (properly outfitted) ER within a few hours, there are drugs that can prevent the stroke for wreaking widespread destruction of your brain. But if you wait, those drugs cannot do you any good and a portion of your brain will be permanently destroyed.
That happened to my father. He recognized that he was probably having a stroke and went to an ER. They did an MRI and diagnosed his stroke -- but they weren't trained in the use of the drugs so they didn't administer them to him and he lost the use of the right side of his body and most of his speech ability for the rest of his life.
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Thanks for sharing your experience and the reminder that "tomorrow is promised no one."
Or as Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditations: "You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think." (2:11)
Or as my play-writing teacher once advised: "write like you're dead."
Momento Mori.
23
A good outcome. Of course in this case the 90210 character's trust advice could have sufficed to counter the benighted fatalism of a parent (!) with 'no time at all'.
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What an absolutely superb article.
About Luke Perry. Aboutmedicine. About life. About death. And about it’s authoress.
Every time I read articles like this, it makes me proud to be what will inevitably be a lifelong subscriber to the NYT
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The author says she did not have high blood pressure before she had a stroke. However, half of American adults have high blood pressure according to new guidelines published in 2017. The figure among post-menopausal women (average age of onset is 51) is closer to 75% according to an article published by the American College of Cardiology in 2018.
The American Heart Association reported in 2017 that, "High blood pressure is the single most important risk factor for stroke because it’s the leading cause of stroke.HBP adds to your heart’s workload and damages your arteries and organs over time. Compared to people whose blood pressure is normal, people with HBP are more likely to have a stroke.
About 87 percent of strokes are caused by narrowed or clogged blood vessels in the brain that cut off the
blood flow to brain cells. This is an ischemic stroke. High blood pressure causes damage to the inner lining of the blood vessels."
In 2016, the CDC reported that 1 in 5 Americans with high blood pressure do not know they have it. Today, under the new guidelines, even more Americans are likely to be unaware that they have high blood pressure. CDC also reports, "About 8 of every 10 people having their first stroke have high blood pressure."
A plant-based diet and plenty of exercise are great ways to avoid high blood pressure and stroke. In his recent best-selling book, "How Not to Die," Dr. Michael Greger devotes a chapter to high blood pressure and another to heart disease.
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@Dan Frazier I second Dr. Greger's book. I talk about a plant based diet with my patients all day long. Less meds, more lifestyle changes!
2
Most of the male members of my family have died of strokes. My brother, whom I was closest to had several heat strokes in his teen years. He died at 77 YO and IMHO and both he and my mother did not sweat very much when working outside in the summer heat.
So again IMHO heat strokes are dangerous. I am 77 YO and in perfect health. Recently in a procedure to remove a tooth root, my blood pressure skyrocketed to 220 MM and the dentist and his assistants immediately put me under nitrous oxide and the BP went back to normal. That made me very happy because I have been waiting for a stroke and the side effects are horrid. My brother battled for years and had a miserable life for almost 20 years.
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@Butch Burton "Heat strokes" have nothing to do with strokes.
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Acute stroke: Welcome to my world. Age 50 and doing all the job stuff every workplace constantly demands. Mercifully family, intensive care, PT rehab refocus what's important. Endure. survive and thrive: it's your life.
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Having now binged on a seemingly limitless supply of testimonials to the selflessness of Luke Perry and how he took every opportunity to make something good happen, I can only think that there is no possible way that the world would not have been better off if he had lived at least another 10 or 20 years.
I should have died from stage IV cancer 2 years ago, but here I am--only a part-time good person on the order of Luke Perry, who will hold open a few doors and paint a few portraits in my numbered days ahead.
A death like Luke Perry's does at least teach us to "number our days" (Psalm 90:12).
25
In September of 2017 my cardiologist ordered a heart cath because I told him I was having trouble catching my breath.The procedure caused the stroke I had while in the hospital. Oh, said everyone, you had a mini stroke or a mild stroke. It could have been worse. You could walk, talk, reason, etc., and that I should be grateful. The stroke wasn't due to high blood pressure or the usual things that cause strokes. I suffered a "procedure" stroke. I still think that the physician who did the cath was careless. But how can this be proven? My left hand is weak, I walk with a limp on the left side, and I get tired very often. I was 78 when this happened. I am now 80 and mad as hell -- with my cardiologist and with the "cath" guy.
21
As moving and insightful as this essay is, I did not cotton to the following: "I imagine this is what the actor Luke Perry thought when the paramedics first reached him. A stroke? No way. Only old people get those." How in the world can this author possibly make such an assumption even imaginatively about Mr. Perry just to score some points for herself and her own response? We'll likely never know if Mr. Perry even had time to think such a thought, since quite often a stroke comes with zero warning -- as I know all too well.
44
I wish I was important enough, or thought I was important enough, to write a really long essay, and have it published, to say what the first year nursing student would advise. FAST. Face... smile and does one side droop? Arms... raise both arms and does one arm drop? Speech... words slurred or strange? Time... if the answer is yes don't be calling your brother... call 911.
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@Joseph. When my father had his big stroke that almost killed him, he was only 53. Not knowing what it is -he felt unwell, had trouble moving one arm, but didn't experience any pain- he called me around
11 PM, I was out-of-state in a different time zone. I had to argue with him and practically yell at him to hang up now and immediately call an ambulance and tell them that he is having a stroke; since it didn't hurt, he wanted to wait until the morning. That's a key difference between many strokes and heart attacks - strokes are often not that painful, whereas heart attacks typically hurt, often a lot. That being said, loss of neurological function plus major headache is also a stroke, and the massive headache is important for the correct diagnosis - that might be a bleeding stroke, which often requires neurological surgery to stop it.
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@Joseph
AND sudden severe headache with no known cause. I have been bugging American Stroke Association to come up with an acronym to include headache.
9
I had the exact same kind of stroke just 13 days ago and so reading this really resonated and comforted me. I've not told my two teen daughter's yet...but plan to do so after this school year ends for them. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your recovery.
17
Kara, your essay has hit home, and I am grateful for that. I have not sustained a stroke myself; however, one of my most rewarding jobs was working as an RN in Acute Rehab where our most frequent patients were victims of strokes. Also, my once vibrant husband of 52 years sustained a major stroke in 2015, that on top of having Parkinson's Disease. He lives on miraculously...loving and embracing life as he always has.
What Ms Swisher has pointed out resonates, I am sure, with thousands of people. First, is that often we just do not know when diseases of the brain and body as a whole will call upon us. We are humans after all. And as perfectly constructed as our bodies are, they are machines with a soul, ironically fragile and vulnerable. Importantly, we know our own bodies better than anyone. If something is amiss, we should not take it for granted.
Finally, I had the privilege of hearing Frank Ostaseski speak just several weeks ago here in my city. He, of course, was wonderful. If readers do not already have it, I highly recommend purchasing his THE FIVE INVITATIONS - Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully.
14
I had a stroke sitting at my desk at work when I was 38 years old. in 1988.
My boss called an ambulance after I tried to drink some tea, it dribbled out of my mouth, and couldn't speak.
At the hospital emergency room, my drooped left side of my face righted itself, and the emergency room doctor gave me the "hysterical woman" diagnosis. "You probably just had an anxiety attack that mimicked the symptoms of a stroke," he said. I drove the 25 mile commute home.
I felt basically okay, but what was weird was that I had been a half-pack a day smoker and had had trouble quitting. But after I drove home, I lit up a cigarette and when I dragged on it, it tasted really lousy. "This tastes like ashes, I don't want this," I said to myself, throwing it away.
That made me go to my regular doctor, an internist. He agreed the stopping smoking immediately was good, but it was strange and he had me go to a neurologist, who ordered an MRI.
Turns out a part of my brain that was essentially uncharted territory (not affecting memory or motor skills or speech, just "emotions" and also, apparently, addictions) was affected. After every possible test was performed on me, the doctors said they didn't know why a blood clot lodged in my brain, but that basically I was fine. They told me to take an 81mg aspirin for the rest of my life and to have a good life.
My doctor said, with physicians' wit, "Well, that was a stroke of luck, wasn't it? You stopped smoking."
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A nice piece. Still, I hope it won't seem pedantic to quietly note that Steve Jobs––a talented but very flawed man––may not be a fount of wisdom when it comes to letting your awareness of death color the values of your life.
Jobs's peculiar and finally irrational reaction to his understandable fear of death did not serve him well. And his definition of the good life is highly questionable as well: in his case, worldly success came at the cost of the wreckage of many lives of those in his orbit.
It's one thing when pundits hold Steve Jobs up as a demi-god of wealth and success. But it doesn't seem that had even average moral grounding or ethical insight. There are better people to read and cite for that.
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Two weeks ago, a friend got up in the middle of the night, and fell suddenly. He thought it was his sciatic nerve acting up. He went back to bed and only realized in the morning that it was something strange. He had a stroke and will go back home from rehab next week, but he still can't move his right arm, and he's right-handed. He is 54 years old.
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@Marilyn Sue Michel
Coincidentally, I had PT today, and my therapist happened to mention that the people he sees with stroke on the dominant-handed side of the body adapt surprisingly quickly to the change of handedness. I hope that is true for your friend.
7
How fortunate are you? Thank you for sharing your story.
17
one thing i did not read in the coverage of his death was what type of stroke he had.
5
@allen
Yes, the details have not come out yet. What's struck me is all the coverage about how stroke can happen at any age. Obviously it can, but it usually doesn't just "happen." It's not a random event without a cause. His face to me indicated something was going on, not sure what - it looked like emphysema, there was just something about his skin. But it could have been anything else, a whole range of things. We may never know in the end.
RIP. Mr Perry seemed like a universally beloved fellow.
1
From a food standpoint, I was lucky. I was raised at a time when junk-food and highly processed food wasn’t so common. Now, many people have lived their whole lives eating salty high fat, highly refined, processed food. They’ve been raised on a junk-food diet. I would say to this younger generation, beware, for what happened to Luke Perry and Mara Swisher may not be anomalies; in fact, because of a lifelong junk-food habit, your arteries may be more prone to clogging, with the resulting strokes and heart attacks, than previous generations.
9
Thank you to the author for her excellent essay and for sharing such important information--and her insights.
12
I survived a ruptured AVM (arteriovenous malformation) 2 weeks after my 30th birthday. I always say it was "The best of a worst case scenario". The thing took out the movement in my left arm and leg but left me with the ability to; drive, communicate,think, travel, work. I was working out at a gym when I had my stroke and was lucky to get to the hospital early. I agree with survivorman, even when you get to the other side of a stroke you really miss what it took from you (even if it didn't take everything). I appreciate this thoughtful article by Kara Swisher. Strokes happen to everyone! young and old!
22
Important article at a time when the medical community is trying to get people to recognize the symptoms of stroke ('brain attack") so they go quickly to the ER and dont go home and try to sleep it off. Ms. Swisher played it perfectly, a testament to her cleverness and her convincing brother. Getting the rest of us to do as well is certainly an uphill battle.
40
Excellent piece, Ms. Swisher. Thank you for sharing your experience.
17
In the 1980s I was listening to a Washington classical music station - WGMS, I think - as the man reading the news started talking gibberish. After too long the broadcast went soundless for many minutes. I learned after a day or two from the Washington Post that he had had a stroke and died. A great, shocking loss. How suddenly life can end.
55
I remember that. I was listening to that broadcast. The DJ's name was Bill Cerri, and he was only 60 years old when he died.
12
This article makes no sense. Some people get a disease (I guess a stroke qualifies) and live and some die. I had cancer (prostate, one of my favorite organs) and lived (sort of). Others die from it. PS Most men die with it, not from it. Women have their own problems (not including men).
9
@Mark Shyres
Well, among other kinds of "sense" the article makes is that some people get a disease and *whether they live or die* can depend on how they react to the earliest symptoms.
I'd wager that, given how many people read the NYT, this one article is likely to make that difference for some number of people (more than 1 but less than ??).
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@Mark Shyres
I should mention that when I got prostate cancer my wife prayed and prayed. It did not work. I lived.
133
@Mark Shyres. Your humor is appreciated.
27
So part of this essay is a justification for being so hard on people--ie, treating them badly? You need to get over yourself, there's no justification for treating people badly, certainly not because we all have limited lifespans.
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@ZHR
Yes, I agree. Rationalizing bad behavior by our limited lifespans seems to be just the opposite of what we need to be doing. Life is short. Don't make it miserable for others, even if yours is.
65
@ZHR
I simply didn't get that part of the lesson.
Being tough on other people ( she says people that she covers, so I assume writes about) - well, if she means she is rigorous in her own work, that's one thing, but the way it reads - referring to those people who "inevitably mess up " - that's the human condition. If your new awareness of the preciousness of life motivates you to go all out for your dreams that's fine, but if the awareness of impending death makes you race, impatient with other mere humans, to the point where you are willing to push them around for your own purposes - well, that was part of the ugly side of Jobs, too, was it not?
17
IMHO, the sad irony in this is that Kara did not mention that Mr. Jobs (R.I.P.) himself *delayed* (by nine months) treatment on his cancer. There have been reports that he was seeking his own treatment path, delaying more conventional treatment .. which very well might have greatly accelerated his death.
I had an experience like Kara. Should have slowed down and gone to E.R., STAT. Really, really dumb that I did not.
And for God's sake, it is obvious -- stop smoking, heavy drinking, doing dangerous drugs, eating too much, and not exercising daily. Be an adult. Thanks.
6
Ms.Swisher
Thank God for your intuition and for your brother, the physician,,that got you to get immediate care.
Enjoy your life.
16
Thank you Ms. Swisher. You have a large platform for which to share this very relevant information.
13
Wow, a great article by Ms. Swisher, who I do not often enjoy reading. If only she could resist shoehorning grok in there. But no matter, it was the best work I have read from her in a long time. There's a human under all of that snark.
14
i had what i've come to refer to as a temporary alteration of awareness one day at work. it was so profound some part of my brain was wondering how i was going to drive home. the strangeness passed and when i got home i called my sister the nurse. my family is crowded with stories of tia's and outright devastating cva's. she recommended the emergency room where i was first worked up for a stroke, and when that turned up nothing they started in on my heart and turned up aortic stenosis, which in the course of two and a half years got me to the point of a new heart valve. this whole thing turned up spots on my lungs and i'm due for a followup cat scan this month. i had no idea there was something going on with my heart, and i'm lucky i have family members who don't fool around when they think something needs to be looked at.
38
If a close relative had a brain aneurysm, you may be at increased risk for one. Ask your doctor if you should have an MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram). Procedures to treat brain aneurysms before they rupture have improved greatly.
43
@Richard Waugaman this is too true. My mum had been diagnosed and fixed 16 years ago. My great-grandmother died from it. My mum always encouraged me to get an MRI, but I put it off for years.
At 49 I was bulletproof. During an unrelated matter, I had given my GP this medical history and he referred me for an MRI 'just in case'. I was diagnosed with 2, which I have since had fixed.
This prompted my sister to do the same - they found 6.......
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@Survived
Thanks so much for sharing your story. It will encourage others who are at risk to get evaluated and treated.
16
@Richard Waugaman
And it's a slightly different issue, but abdominal aneurysms can also run in families, and are deadly.
7
Thank you so much for writing this.
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