How to Identify a Stroke

During a BBQ a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assuredeveryone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned upand got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up,Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid'shusband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken tothe hospital - (at 6:00pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered astroke at the BBQ - had they known how to identify the signs of a strokeperhaps Ingrid would be with us today.



It only takes a minute to read this-Recognizing a StrokeA neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hourshe can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed an getting to the patient within 3 hours which is tough. RECOGNIZING A STROKE Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps. Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately ,the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may sufferbrain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of astroke.


Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.
2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. . . Itis sunny out today) If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks,call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identifyfacial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February.

Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.