Podcast: Stroke Signs We Miss – and Why They Matter
This week on Living Healthy Together, we explore how awareness, rapid treatment and coordinated care and clinical support can change everything.
Genie Denton of University of Vermont Health - Central Vermont Medical Center shares her powerful personal experience surviving multiple strokes, joined by her husband, Steven Harnois, a firefighter and longtime EMT. Genie recounts the subtle and often confusing symptoms that nearly went unnoticed, and how quick action and timely treatment made a life-changing difference for her.
Christopher Commichau, MD, director of cerebrovascular disease, neurocritical care and the Stroke Center at UVM Health, and Jenna Wydra, RN, Stroke Program Manager for UVM Health, break down what strokes look like in the moment and discuss the importance of recognizing symptoms using the ‘BEFAST’ (“Balance, Eyes, Face, Arm, Speech, Time”) framework. They highlight how a coordinated, regional system of care ensures patients receive timely, high-quality treatment no matter where they live.
Tracy Madsen, MD, an emergency physician and vice chair of research at UVM’s Larner College of Medicine, and Daniela Zambrano, MD, a vascular neurologist and stroke specialist at UVM Medical Center, discuss emerging clinical insights around maternal stroke risk. Their discussion emphasizes the importance of prenatal care and recognizing possible stroke symptoms during pregnancy.
About Living Healthy Together
Each week we share stories, advice and insights from those closest to care in Vermont and northern New York while exploring the local and national issues shaping health care. Catch Living Healthy Together live airing on Radio Vermont's WDEV Fridays at 1 pm.
