STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters..... S. T. R.
STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
...
During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call 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 - (at 6:00 pm Jane 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.
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 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 emergency number 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.
Two years ago I was working as an advocate/case manager with adults with disabilities. I arrived at the Vocational Rehabilitation office for an appointment with a client and staff mentioned that my client hadn't been making sense while talking.
I had just read about the signs of stroke several days before (wonderful synchronicity) and quickly gave her a few tests. Based on the results, I was able to convince them to provide us emergency transportation to the hospital.
I had also happened to bring her entire file (which was not typical) - complete with medical history - with me that day and was able to provide it to the doctors.
She did recover from the majority of her symptoms and was released from the hospital after a 5 day stay. I still feel blessed that I was in the right place at the right time, armed with all the right information!
Posted by: Cynthia H | February 18, 2011 at 04:16 AM
This is important advice. There is one erroneous statement however. A stroke that is caused by a clot may in fact be resolved in 3 hours with TPA and other agents. A hemorrhagic stroke cannot be resolved in this way. There is no way to tell unless immediate CT is done. There are now designated stroke triage centers in many places. Symptoms should not be ignored. Virginia Adi, R.N., Herbalist.
Posted by: Virginia Adi | December 29, 2010 at 08:08 AM