A stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological
damage, complications, and death. It is the leading cause of adult
disability in the United States and Europe and the second leading cause
of death worldwide. Risk factors for stroke include old age, hypertension
(high blood pressure), previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA),
diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking and atrial fibrillation. High
blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor of stroke.
STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters... S.T.R ...
If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some
folks.
STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured
everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her
new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance) .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 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.)
She had suffered a stroke at the party .
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...
STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
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
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 * = TALK. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (eg 'It is sunny out today').
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS .
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the
ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
