Stroke -- a quick STR method of checking.

20 March 2006

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I 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 minute 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) (i.e. . . It is sunny out 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.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people, you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

Thanks, Amanda.

Whoops!

I may have spoken too soon. The above arrived, almost verbatim, in a chain letter ('... gets this email sends it to 10 people'). Now I find it on BreakTheChain.org, an organization that collects and de-bunks chain letters.:

The simple three- item examination is known as the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) and has been successfully used by health care professionals in stroke screening. The focus of the research was to see if the CPSS could be used by the general public. The study recruited stroke survivors who still had some symptoms. They then asked 100 non-patient visitors to the University of North Carolina Hospital emergency room to use the CPSS in telephone script form. The researchers concluded that bystanders correctly administered the CPSS 96 percent of the time.

The conclusion? You improve the chances 19 times out of 20, by remembering and using this short -- smile, talk, raise arms -- test. And get help over any uncertain results.

Extensive and reliable information about preventing, detecting and treating stroke can be found at the American Stroke Association's web site