OHIO — It’s often a matter of life or death, but doctors say many people struggle to recognize it the signs when someone is having a stroke.

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed Ohio as one state with the largest percentage increase in stroke cases.

It can be a matter of seconds to help someone who’s having a stroke, said State Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Ohio, who faced those seconds more than two decades ago after her mother had fallen at the time and could not get up.

“We lost my mother to complications from a stroke back in 1999,” Antonio said. “That’s initially why we called the first responders, but when we got there, when they got there, she was speaking oddly, but she was also refusing to go to the hospital.”

Antonio said 24 hours later, they discovered her mother was having a stroke.

While her mom didn’t have slurred speech, Antonio said she was saying things that were not normal, such as referring to herself as “it.”

In fact, it was so unclear what was happening that Antonio had to pressure the first responders to take her mother to the hospital.

“So, it’s been quite a while now, but I was determined when I came to the legislature that I would do everything I could so that other people, other families, didn’t experience what we did,” Antonio said.

Antonio is now co-sponsoring a bill that designates the first week of May as Stroke Awareness Week.

Dr. Eva Mistry is a stroke neurologist at the University of Cincinnati and said stroke awareness can save lives.

Mistry is also the vice chair of research and department of neurology and division director for Vascular Neurology and has been in medicine for over ten years.

“A stroke is usually sudden and drastic. It happens completely, you know, you’re fine one second and then you’re not,” Mistry said. “So, for a lot of people to kind of comprehend that sudden level of change that is fairly drastic is hard.”

The word “FAST” is one way to remember some of the most common symptoms, standing for: Facial drool, Arm drift, Slurred speech, Time to call 911

People often become caregivers after a loved one has had a stroke. Mistry said it’s important to take care of yourself as well because caregiving can be a lot of work.

There are some things people can do to prevent a stroke or minimize the risk of getting one.

The number one risk factor for a stroke, Mistry sai, is blood pressure.

“Eating healthy, exercising on a daily basis, those kinds of things can help reduce the blood pressure,” Mistry said. “The other risk factors are similar to what your heart disease factors are, so your diabetes, smoking, cholesterol, so taking care of those risk factors if you have them and taking care of your body to make sure you don’t develop risk factors.”

As for Antonio, she’s pushing for a bill that’s much more than just designating the first week of May as Stroke Awareness Week, which would educate people about signs and how to prevent them.

If this bill becomes law, her vision is to get the word out to as many people as possible, including young children in schools who may spend time with their grandparents.

Because Antonio said every second counts and they can make all the difference.

“I envision local EMS and local first responders talking to communities,” Antonio said. “I imagine that legislators will send out maybe even do little press releases or little videos like what we did in our community to get the word out and explain to folks how important it is.”