Providence Educates Latino Community About Stroke Risk Following Sunday mass

Several churches took part in the event.

Promotora (and new Providence Scholl's employee), Adriana Rodriguez, takes the blood pressure of Rafael Davila, parishioner at St. Alexander parish in Cornelius. Blood pressure screening is an important tool to identify people at risk for stroke

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Hundreds of people received a potentially life saving lesson after Sunday Mass last weekend at nine Catholic churches in Multnomah and Washington Counties.

Volunteer health promoters from the Providence Parish Health Outreach Program teamed up with the Providence Brain Institute to educate parishioners about stroke risk and prevention.

In a first-of-its-kind event, the churches held educational health fairs for members of the Spanish-speaking community. After Mass, parishioners participated in interactive activities that included stroke risk assessment, stroke prevention education, blood pressure screenings by volunteer nurses, nutrition education, and exercise awareness.

Stroke is the fourth leading-cause of death for Latinos - 48 percent of all Latino men die of stroke and 37 percent of women. Almost 45 percent of Latinos suffer from high cholesterol, which is the most common cause of cardio-vascular problems such as stroke.

The churches that took part in this important outreach to the Latino community are:

• St. Anthony, Tigard
• St. Cecilia, Beaverton
• St. Pius X, Portland
• Holy Cross, North Portland
• Holy Redeemer, North Portland
• St. Peter, SE Portland
• Ascension Parish, SE Portland
• St. Anne, Gresham

Recognizing the signs of a stroke can mean the difference between life or death, full recovery or major disability.

“Time is brain. The faster a person receives treatment, the greater the chance of reducing brain damage and minimizing the life changing disability that stroke causes,” said Dr. Ted Lowenkopf, medical director of the Providence Stroke Center.

“Treatment must be given within the first three hours from when stroke symptoms begin, but earlier is much better. In an untreated stroke, brain tissue is dying by the minute. That’s why it’s important to call 9-1-1 at the first sign of a stroke.”

The signs of stroke are:

• Sudden numbness of weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing with one or both eyes
• Sudden dizziness, loss of balance or trouble walking
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

This concentrated effort to educate the Spanish speaking Latino community in the Portland-metro area is the Providence Mission commitment in action - serving the health needs of all people in our community.

Information on stroke warning signs and prevention and all give-aways were provided by the Providence Brain Institute. For more information on stroke, or the Promotores program, you can visit the Providence Brain Institute website: providence.org/brain or call 503-216-7192 or 503-236-9670, ext 25.