Fears about COVID-19 may be the reason up to 60 percent of people with mild to moderate strokes and transient ischemic attacks (short-lived strokes that raise the risk for a larger stroke in the future) did not seek emergency care in the months after the pandemic began, recent studies suggest. “I’ve treated some of these patients weeks or months later,” says Ayesha Sherzai, MD, a neurologist at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California. “They are in worse shape neurologically than people who got care. Delaying or not getting help allows more brain cells to die during a stroke.”

Call 911 immediately if you suspect that you or someone you know may be having a stroke. Symptoms include sudden weakness on one side of the body, drooping of the face, or trouble speaking clearly. “Time equals brain in a stroke,” says Kumar Rajamani MD, DM, medical director of the Comprehensive Stroke Program at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. “Medications are effective only in a small time period—often the first four hours after symptoms start,” he says. “In some cases, highly specialized procedures that can minimize brain damage are effective within the first 24 hours.”

Don’t drive yourself or someone else to the hospital. “It's always better to call 911 for a suspected stroke, even if you live close to the hospital,” says Eliza C. Miller, MD, assistant professor of neurology at New York’s Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “The emergency medical technicians will get you to the right hospital for stroke treatment and prenotify them so the stroke team will literally meet you at the door and begin tests right away.”

To learn how diet can help lower your risk of a stroke, read Foods that Protect Against Stroke.