Stroke Awareness, Merit Health Wesley

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in Mississippi.

Around 1500 Mississippians die from it every year.

Merit Health Wesley was recently awarded an advanced certification for primary stroke centers and is encouraging people to become more aware of this medical issue.

Stroke Center Coordinator, Scott Scrimpshire said, “As an advanced primary stroke center, we cover all facets of stroke care, from ER through to impatient care, on through long-term rehab.”

“The most important thing is getting to a stroke center immediately to get the best care as quickly as possible, because the faster we can get the medicine to them or the treatment to them, the better chance they have to making a full recovery,” said Scrimpshire

According to the American Heart Association, these are some of the stoke symptom signs:

-If one side of person's face has a droop.

-If one one of the person's arms drifts downward

-If speech is slurred or strange.