Sunday, October 16, 2011

Stroke Has a New Indicator

They Now Have a Fourth Indicator: The tongue.

STROKE: Remember the First Three Letters: S, T, R

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall. She assured everyone (who offered to call paramedics) that she was fine; 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, 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 -- at 6:00 p.m. Jane had passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. 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 . . . totally. 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

Thank God for the sense to remember the three steps: S, T, R. 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 and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (coherently), i.e. "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 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke: Stick Out Your Tongue. NOTE: Another sign of a stroke is this: Ask the person to stick out his tongue. If the tongue is crooked, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

Pass it along!

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