Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, according to the CDC. Additionally, every three and a half minutes someone dies of a stroke. The Eastside Neuroscience Institute provides high quality, patient-centered care to those who have suffered from strokes and other neurological disease. The institute is a partnership between Overlake and EvergreenHealth “We’re leveraging our clinical expertise, technology and resources to try to deliver the best care we can to patients with neurological disease,” said Dr. Steven O’Donnell, neurologist and medical director for the Stroke Program at Overlake Medical Center. A stroke occurs when the flow of blood to the brain tissue is disrupted. This happens when either a blood vessel is blocked by a clot or breaks open and bleeds in the brain. “In minutes, blood cells die, so we like to say, ‘time is brain,’” Dr. O’Donnell said. Risk factors for stroke include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes. Preventative measures include regular exercise, a balanced diet, and keeping your blood pressure in the normal range. Stroke symptoms can happen suddenly, so Dr. O’Donnell recommends remembering to BE FAST. B – Balance issues (sudden onset) E – Eye/vision sudden loss F – Face drooping A – Arm weakness S – Speech difficulty T – Time to call 911 “A lot of strokes can present in different ways, and we were finding that people were waiting too long to come in who had some other symptoms, including that vision loss or sudden vertigo or balance issues,” Dr. O’Donnell said. To get more information on stroke signs, symptoms, and prevention, visit eastsideneuroinstitute.org. Sponsored by Overlake Medical Center. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KING 5's New Day Northwest is Western Washington's only local daytime talk show. Watch it weekdays at 11 a.m. PST on KING 5 TV and streaming live on http://www.king5.com. #newdaynw 🢒 Follow New Day Northwest! 🢐 FACEBOOK 🢒 https://www.facebook.com/newdaynw TWITTER 🢒 https://twitter.com/newdaynw INSTAGRAM 🢒 https://www.instagram.com/newdaynw