Stroke Identification

Always good to know for your 'older' friends or relatives!

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters...S -- T -- R

February 01, 2006

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to
post it and spread the word.

I totally agree. If everyone can remember
something this simple, we could save some folks.
Seriously.. Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little
fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they
offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick
because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and 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's husband called later telling everyone
that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00
pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the
BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke,
perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die.
They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a few minutes to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke
victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects
of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a
stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient
medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps,
STR...Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to
identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells
disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage
when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a
stroke.

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

S -- Ask the individual to SMILE.

T -- Ask the person to TALK -- to SPEAK A SIMPLE
SENTENCE
(Coherently: e.g., "It is sunny
outside today.")

R -- Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

{NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the
person to 'stick' out their tongue... if the tongue
is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is
also an indication of a stroke}

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these
tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to
the dispatcher.