DANIA BEACH, Fla. – According to the CDC, every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke and minutes matter when it comes to the chances of survival and quality of recovery.
That’s why Dr. Brijesh Mehta with the Memorial Neuroscience Institute has made it his personal mission to educate new firefighter-paramedics throughout South Florida on how to identify someone who’s having a life threatening stroke.
“We follow an algorithm to see what kind of occlusion they’re going to have in their brain that’s what they’re learning about today but we have a lot of challenging patients that may be mimicking a stroke so what dr. Mehta allows us to do is to call him, day or night, and actually FaceTime and help identify if this person is a stroke alert or not which is really an outstanding tool that he’s been able to give us,” said Lt. Steve Krivjanik with Broward County Sheriff Fire Rescue.
The sooner a stroke is identified, the better neurological outcome a patient will have.
May 2 marks Melanoma Monday
Melanoma is the most invasive form of skin cancer and has the highest risk for death which is why skin cancer checks are so important.
“It’s so important, especially for people who love being outdoors and who are fair skinned. I think it’s interesting that often times the people who aren’t very fair skin and who don’t burn, are the ones who tend not to go and get checked because they say ‘oh yeah, i get a tan very easily,” said Dr. Philip Bernard with Cleveland Clinic.
If you notice any kind of unusual moles or spots on your skin, Bernard said you should consult with a dermatologist.
It’s best to be on the safe side, even if it turns out to be nothing.