AWARENESS OF STROKE RISK AND SYMPTOMS IN DIABETES PATIENTS

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Hinkle, Janice PhD, CNRN, RN
Chanda, Rabindranath MRCP
Buchan, Alastair FMedSci, DSc
Manoj, Aravindakshan MD

Janice Hinkle, PhD, CNRN, RN, is senior research fellow, Oxford Brookes University, and acute stroke programme; Rabindranath Chanda, MRCP, is specialist registrar, geriatrics; Alastair Buchan, FMedSci, DSc, is professor of clinical gerontology and honorary consultant neurologist, acute stroke programme; all at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford; Aravindakshan Manoj, MD, is consultant physician, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, Liverpool.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN DOUBLE-BLIND PEER-REVIEWED

Nursing Times 104(31):p 32-33, August 5, 2008.

ABSTRACT

Hinkle, J. et al (2008) Awareness of stroke risk and symptoms in diabetes patients. Nursing Times; 104: 31, 32-33.

A survey was conducted with hospitalised patients aged over 18 with type 2 diabetes to establish their awareness of stroke warning symptoms, risk factors and treatment options. Asked which organ of the body was affected by stroke, 41% said the brain; the remainder named other organs or did not know. Respondents named a total of 20 warning symptoms of stroke, with the two most common being sudden paralysis of one side of the body and sudden speech difficulty. Fifty-two per cent of respondents did not know what happened inside the brain when a stroke occurred. More health promotion is needed with patients with diabetes to increase their knowledge of stroke warning symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options.