A doctor has highlighted three key warning signs that could indicate an impending stroke, which may manifest days before the more commonly known symptoms. Dr Eric Berg DC, the author of the bestselling book ‘The Healthy Keto Plan’ and an expert in healthy ketosis and intermittent fasting, shared these insights on his TikTok page, where he boasts a following of 1.8 million.
In a recent video, which quickly amassed 442.7k views and over 10,000 likes, Dr Berg explained: “There are three early warning signs of a stroke. These three early signs are not the actual signs that you had a stroke.
“That would be like one side of your face starts drooping and you lose function, or you’re trying to move your arm or your leg and it’s not working, or you start to talk and your words are slurred.
“Those are signs that you had a stroke. But the earliest signs before you have a stroke are a little bit different.
“Since a stroke causes a blood clot to the brain, you’re going to get a lot of pressure that shows up in the brain, and that’s going to show up as a severe headache,” reports the Mirror.
He added: “You can feel very nauseous, almost like you want to vomit. And this can come from stress, adrenaline, or cortisol. But most clots are related to having blood sugar issues.
“Keeping the sugar and the starches out of the diet are going to be a very smart thing if you want to avoid a stroke. Another early sign of a stroke could be hiccups that just are not going away.
“The last early sign would be chest pain that is not coming from a heart attack. What’s happening is there’s a clot that’s forming in the artery because you’re obstructing oxygen to the heart itself.”
Signs of a stroke
The main symptoms of a stroke can happen suddenly. They may include:
- face weakness – one side of your face may droop (fall) and it might be hard to smile
- arm weakness – you may not be able to fully lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in 1 arm
- speech problems – you may slur your words or sound confused
The easiest way to remember these symptoms is the word FAST. This stands for: face, arms, speech and time to call 999.
According to the NHS, there are other signs that you or someone else is having a stroke. These include:
- weakness or numbness down one side of your body
- blurred vision or loss of sight in one or both eyes
- finding it difficult to speak or think of words
- confusion and memory loss
- feeling dizzy or falling over
- a severe headache
- feeling or being sick (nausea or vomiting)
Symptoms of a stroke can sometimes stop after a short time, so you may think you’re fine. Even if this happens, get medical help straight away.
A stroke is more likely to happen if you’re older, but it can happen at any age.