It can happen anywhere
Gerald Willoughby knew something was wrong but didn’t think much of it.
He was on the Orange Line subway, almost near the Forest Hills station, when he kept dropping his day planner.
It was odd to say the least.
But every time he tried to grasp the notebook with his left hand, it would fall to the floor.
Willoughby shook off the warning sign and went on about his business. He couldn’t use his left hand while driving home that night, but that didn’t seem to matter either.
It mattered when he arrived home and his wife took a good look at him. She saw that the left side of his face had begun to droop.
Still, no real panic.
They didn’t call 911. Instead, they headed out for a previously scheduled doctor’s appointment. Instead of visiting his general practitioner, Willoughby saw an endocrinologist at the same health center. While in the office, Willoughby fell unconscious.
As it turned out, doctors discovered that Willoughby had a tumor on one of his adrenal glands. Those glands are located on top of the kidneys and help regulate blood pressure. Willoughby’s weren’t working properly, causing his blood pressure to be abnormally high.
He had been diagnosed with high blood pressure at the age of 30 and prescribed numerous medicines to keep the condition under control. They didn’t. And the technology at the time didn’t allow doctors to clearly define the tumor.
He was 43 years old when his first stroke occurred on the Orange Line that day in 1997. Over the next seven years, he suffered five more. In one four week period, he had four strokes.
It wasn’t until specialists detected the tiny tumor that doctors knew how to solve Willoughby’s problem. The tumor was removed, his blood pressure improved and instead of as many as eight medications a day, Willoughby is now down to just one.
More important, his risk for having yet another stroke is way down.
High blood pressure is one of the greatest risk factors for a stroke. Others are high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and physical inactivity. Smoking and excessive use of alcohol are also factors.
The symptoms are well-known — sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body; sudden confusion; sudden trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing; sudden trouble walking or dizziness or loss of balance; or a sudden severe headache with no apparent cause.
The good news is that strokes are largely preventable through lifestyle changes and medications.
The bad news is that many of those most vulnerable to strokes remain voluntarily unaware. One of the biggest problems with stroke prevention is that some don’t recognize the symptoms, or worse, they simply think that the symptoms will go away on their own.
For African Americans, the challenge is even greater, largely because all of the risk factors for strokes are prevalent in the black community.
“Its really important that African Americans understand the risk factors,” said Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, director of Acute Stroke Services and Vice Chairman of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. “If you have them, make sure they are controlled.”
Dr. Schwamm also warned that managing risk factors is not the same thing as eliminating chronic diseases such as stroke.
“Even if the risk factors are controlled,” Dr. Schwamm says, “it’s not the same thing as having zero risks. Patients must plan their lives as if the risk factors are very much present in their everyday lives. These conditions require constant monitoring and medication to keep stroke and heart disease at bay” |
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Gerald Willoughby had a disorder of his adrenal glands, which caused his high blood pressure, and eventually resulted in a stroke. He continues to take medication to keep his hypertension in check.
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