As the warning signs of a stroke are being better understood and awareness increases, changes are also being made within emergency medical services (EMS) systems across the country. Getting treatment to a stroke victim as quickly as possible is paramount to their survival.

This is where the national Emergency Medical Services (EMS) stroke awareness comes in. They are implementing an ongoing stroke awareness and support campaign that aims to educate and empower the entire medical services infrastructure that may be called upon to support and treat a stroke victim. They are also aiming at educating the public to be better informed and able to identify early warning signs of stroke and corresponding stroke symptoms.

The more common or frequent symptoms of stroke include:

An unexplained and sudden numbing sensation or feeling very week in the face, or down one side of the body.

Sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye.

Inability to speak fluently or a complete loss of speech. It is understood that stroke victims are well aware of what is happening to them when they are experiencing a stroke, but are unable to communicate their predicament as their words are either mumbled or they are unable to speak at all.

Sudden severe headaches with no apparent cause.

An unsteady sensation, or dizziness, or even inability to stand, especially if experiencing any of the other stroke symptoms as well.

EMS is indeed a complete stroke support system. It includes educators, researchers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, emergency departments and their specially trained staffs, paramedic ambulances and advanced communication centers that include trained emergency medical dispatchers, who field calls for emergency assistance.

A recent study by the Central New York EMS program found the average person who had a stroke waited nearly 2 hours before calling for assistance. EMS has attempted to fight this delay by becoming more aggressive with public education on stroke warning signs and symptoms and urging patients to call 911 or the their EMS for assistance at the first signs of stroke.

When the call for assistance arrives at the emergency communication center, the emergency medical dispatchers have updated protocols for dealing with stroke patients, and paramedics on the scene now have specific stroke protocols to follow when attending patients.

They are able to assess patients on the spot and make informed judgements due to their knowledge of stroke symptoms, and are able to make detailed reports to physicians and medical departments on route to hospital. The end result is a very streamlined and efficient service for identifying signs of a stroke, managing the stroke symptoms and increasing the odds of survival and recovery for the victim.

The odds of stroke recovery and even survival decrease the longer it takes to get a patient the necessary medical treatment they need. And with the rate of stroke attacks increasing every year, it's vital that we all understand the signs of stroke and are better able to help someone should we ever find ourselves in that situation.