Do you feel a possible cold coming on? Suffering from severe headaches? Seeing a change in your vision? Well, believe it or not, these could be signs of a stroke.

“It’s the  number three cause of mortality in the United States and the number one cause of long-term disability,” says Dr. Paul Driscoll, a neurologist on the Lee Memorial Health System medical staff.

Weakness or numbness on one side of the body, even speech impairments are common symptoms associated with stroke but Dr. Driscoll says knowing the not-so-common symptoms are even more important. “One of the issues that we’ve had locally, and I’ve dealt with for a number of years, is trying to get people aware of their symptoms, calling 911 and getting in for an immediate and accurate assessment of what’s going on.”

So, what are some of the hidden warning signs? Loss in vision, whether it’s direct or peripheral, severe and piercing headaches, even balance problems. The changes can happen suddenly and you should seek help immediately.

“The hardest part is when you see somebody and they’ve developed some clumsiness or slurred speech and a day and a half later they finally come in because they can’t get to the bathroom at that point, and then the toothpaste is out of the tube, and you’re dealing with a rehabilitation issue,” explains Dr. Driscoll.

He adds that as you get older, your risk increases. That’s why having regular screenings and checkups with your physician are essential to reducing your chances of stroke. “Once a year if you are young and healthy, or maybe twice a year if you have one of the risk factors that requires a little bit more monitoring,” he adds.

Those risk factors include: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.