Stroke symptoms: How aware are you of the major warning signs?

Dr. Frank Silver, a neurologist at Toronto Western Hospital, says a stroke is always a medical emergency that needs urgent action such as calling 911 or their local emergency number.  Toronto Western Hospital/Canadian Press

Though strokes are responsible for the death of over 8,000 Canadian women each year, a new Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada survey reveals that women across the country still display a low awareness of the risk factors and warning signs of stroke. 
 
The foundation conducted a national telephone survey about strokes earlier this year, asking survey respondents to name some of the major warning signs of stroke, which include: weakness, trouble speaking, vision problems, headache and dizziness.
 
Survey results revealed that only 62 per cent of Canadian women could name two of the five major warning signs of stroke, while only 23 per cent could identify one of the risk factors associated with strokes.
 
Awareness levels among women of Chinese and South Asian descent were even lower, the group said Wednesday.

-With files from the Canadian Press

How aware are you of the warning signs of a stroke? How many of the symptoms and risk factors would you be able to name? Let us know in the comments below.


(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)