jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A post by dirtpusher reminded me about this article I used to post occasionally.

Stroke: Remember the 1st Three Letters..... S. T. R.

Stroke Identification
During a BBQ, Jane stumbled and took a little fall. She assured everyone that she was fine and declined the offer of paramedics). She said she had 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, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Jane's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital, and at 6:00 PM, she passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ, and that is why she fell. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Jane would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

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

Recognizing a Stroke
A bystander can identify a stroke by asking the person to do four simple things:

S - Ask the individual to smile.

T - Ask the person to talk and speak a simple, coherent sentence.

R- Ask him or her to raise both arms.
New one - Have the person stick out his tongue. If the tongue is crooked and cannot be held straight, that is a sign of a stroke.

If he or she has trouble with any one of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Find the nearest hospital with a stroke center.
http://www.strokecenter.org/

http://www.stroke.org/site/PageNavigator/HOME

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

Excellent info - thanks for posting!

twinhearts Loc: Southwestern Michigan

I taught my boys about this when they were younger. We had a family member suffer two strokes and I felt it was something they should know, just in case. They never needed the info personally but they had talked about it to a friend a few years later. A good thing as the boy was with his grandmother and she began acting funny. He asked her to do the raising of the arms, sticking out her tongue, and smile, which she had no problem doing. It was when she tried to say she was fine that he knew something was wrong. She kept saying saying she was sun instead of fine. He called 911 and his parents. She did have a stroke and because of his quick thinking, she completely recovered.

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

My mom had one eye lid that looked only 'possibly, slightly' different from the other eye. A slight headache. She was having a stroke. None of the other ' normal' symptoms... We delayed, thinking 'is she or isn't she having a stroke. Not sure? Go have it checked out!!!!!! You only have one 'GOLDEN HOUR', max to get medical attention before damage becomes permanent.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Good info that I will keep. Strokes can also be hereditary, which is why it is important to check and monitor your blood pressure. And there is the Silent Stroke that you may never know about. I took the seriousness of a stroke when the late President M. Nixon died of one.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

A friend of mines wife passed away even though she recognized the symptoms, called 911 right away, paramedics came, hospitalized her, gave her the medications for stroke, and then her brain started to bleed too much from the meds and she died before my friend could get to her from his Jeep adventure. He didn't even know his wife had passed away until he got home a day later and there was a note on the table that stated his wife was taken to hospital and that he needs to get there as fast as possible. She was dead before he could get there.

tbohon Loc: Olympia, WA USA

I work in a hospital and here we use the FAST rule if we suspect a stroke: Facial droop Arm weakness Slurred or garbled speech Time to call 9-1-1

As someone who has had almost 30 'baby' strokes over the past 20 years and who, according to my doctors, will probably have a final 'big' one at some point I'm glad to see these kinds of things posted and shared. Everybody should know the signs of a stroke and ideally everyone will also know CPR as well.

Thanks for posting.

Tom

jsmangis Loc: Peoria, IL

Thank you Jerry. I did not know about the tongue thing.

Michael Hartley Loc: Deer Capital of Georgia

Good info to post there Jerry. My wife has had 6 in the last two years. F.A.S.T. is definitely the plan. If you even suspect a stroke, call the pros, let them decide.

Another thing, women mostly don't have heart attacks like men do, they just get where they're having trouble breathing, understanding, stuff like that. Better to err, on the side of caution.

terry44 Loc: Tuolumne County California, Maui Hawaii

after the series of strokes that I had while living in Maui, the doctors at Trippler Veterans hospital they taught this to my wife so she could be my first line of defense. She has taken me in 3 times since we moved here 2 were just stress the other they said was another mini stroke, this advice can save a life thanks for posting this

terry44 Loc: Tuolumne County California, Maui Hawaii