GRAFTON, Wis. — Sunday is World Stroke Day.

What You Need To Know

  • One in four people will experience a stroke in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organization

  • World Stroke Day is Oct. 29

  • Annette Molkentine noticed a strange feeling in her arm before having a stroke

  • Thanks to the Viz.ai software, Molkentine's doctors were able to quickly come up with a treatment plan

The World Health Organization reports that one in four people will experience a stroke in their lifetime. The organization said 90% of those strokes could be prevented by could be prevented by addressing these risk factors: high blood pressure, hypertension, smoking, diet and exercise.

Prevention is key, and the organization said to remember the acronym FAST.

  • F - face drooping 

  • A - arm weakness 

  • S - speech difficulties 

  • T - time to call 

Grafton resident Annette Molkentine had a stroke this past July. She was making zucchini bread when she noticed her left arm felt strange.

“Just this one arm,” said Molkentine. “It was just something weird. It wasn’t tingling or hurting, but I knew something was wrong.”

Not long after, she fell and was taken to Aurora Medical Center-Grafton. There, they discovered she had a stroke, and she was transferred to the comprehensive stroke team at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center.

“There was a blot clot on the side and I went to St. Luke’s and they gave me some medicine to dissolve that,” said Molkentine. “They put a stent in for me.”

Dr. Kavit Shah is a vascular and endovascular neurologist at Auroa St. Luke’s Medical Center. He said thanks to a software called Viz.ai, both hospitals were able to communicate quickly about the best treatment for Molkentine. It’s an application on his cellphone where he can view her scans and communicate with other medical professionals. 

“Since we know a patient loses an average of two million neurons per minute, the longer we wait, the higher likelihood that neurons die and irreversible loss of brain function,” said Shah. 

For that, Molkentine is grateful.

“I wasn’t paralyzed,” said Molkentine. “I had no problems and everything turned out good.”

She’s now focused on her health and taking walks and eating healthier. Molkentine even made a batch of zucchini bread for Shah and the rest of her doctors and nurses.

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