Recognising the signs of a stroke

Sometimes the symptoms of a stroke can be difficult to identify. Unfortunately, this lack of awareness spells disaster. If the stroke victim does not die from the stroke, he or she may suffer severe brain damage when people around them fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Read and learn!

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours of the stroke, he can reverse the effects of a stroke... He said the trick is getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within the 3 hours, which is tough. Reading this can save many lives, and it only takes a minute...

Real life story -- During a BBQ, Ingrid stumbled and took a little fall. She assured everyone that she was fine even though they offered to call paramedics and explained that she simply tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and gave 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 and at 6:00pm, 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.

3 easy steps to recognising a stroke

A stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks the blood flow in one of the blood vessels in the brain, which means loss of blood supply to a part of the brain. This can result in brain damage, paralysis of one side of the face or body, even death.

Doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three or four simple questions. These can be remembered by thinking of the first three letters of the word 'stroke', that is, S-T-R.

S -- Ask the person to SMILE.
They may be unable to smile, or their smile may be crooked if they suffered a stroke.

T -- Ask them to TALK.
They must be able to speak coherently, e.g. say something simple like "It's sunny outside today."

R -- Ask the person to RAISE BOTH ARMS above his/her head.
If the person is unable to do this, it probably is a stroke.

You can also ask the person to STICK OUT THEIR TONGUE. A tongue that seems 'crooked' (i.e. going more to one side or the other), is also an indication of the person suffering a stroke.

If the person has trouble with any ONE of the four tasks mentioned above, do not waste a second. Please call your doctor and the emergency services immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

A cardiologist has said that if everyone who reads this tells 10 people, you can bet that at least one life will be saved. So please remember the word S-T-R-oke.

--RegAlert received this tip by email and edited it slightly, but we don't know the original author

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