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What's your stroke IQ?

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by Jean Enersen / KING 5 News

Posted on February 7, 2010 at 8:46 PM

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Filippo Lombardi grew up working hard. He was a father of eight in a small Italian town.

But what he learned in that life helped him build a restaurant in New York.

It's all a family affair.

"It really has kept us all very close. It really is the key," said Filippo's daughter, Filomena.

That's why it didn't take long to notice something was wrong.

"We noticed some slight differences in the way he was walking and the way he was moving," said Filomena.

Filippo's carotid artery was closing.

How much do you know about stroke?

True or false: The best sign of stroke is paralysis?

"It cannot necessarily just involve motor weakness, but it can also involve numbness, seizures," said Dr. Henry Woo.

The most common stroke symptoms are weakness, vision problems, difficulty speaking, dizziness, unsteadiness or loss of balance.

True or false: Smoking will not affect my chances of having a stroke.

Smoking doubles your chances of having a stroke.

True or false: If stroke symptoms pass, you don't need to seek treatment.

The truth is one-third of people who have this kind of mini episode eventually will have a stroke.

Today, Filippo is back in the kitchen and back with his family where he belongs.

Here's another question for you: does age matter when it comes to stroke? The answer is yes. The risk of having a stroke more than doubles each decade after the age of 55.

For mor information visit www.strokecenter.org

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