STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters… S.T.R.�
I received this very useful email at work, it’s about identifying a stroke victim, what are the symptoms of a stroke, and hopefully be in time to save the victim from the adverse effects of a stroke. If you find the contents useful and wish to forward it through email to your friends and family please do so, or if you wish to post it on your blog you may do so as well. Alright now, read on and hopefully this can help save a few stroke victims out there.
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 6:00pm , 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. 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 911 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.
















































































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April 22nd, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Hey i’ve read this before in a forwarded email. It’s a simple and easy to remember skills to identify a stroke victim. Thanks for posting it up! Make sure everyone reads this ya! Then in future you can be hero and save someone! Not just a fictional HEROES episode in Astro.
April 22nd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
While the first three tests are true, the crooked tongue thing is open to intepretation.
check out this page, this is the site I usually go to verify all these emails:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/stroke.asp
April 22nd, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Natassha: thanks, really hope this gets more exposure, it could really make a difference I believe.
Aeres: hmmm… well medical findings always have some things open to interpretation, but it wouldn’t hurt to do an extra test to be safe. Good site provided btw.