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! y.
    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

    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.


    Robin Lamar



So I would not be too hard on yourselves.  This is good info to know and
to pass along, but getting Ingrid to a hospital sooner may have made all
the difference, but maybe not.

Hope to see you again soon,

Dave Leonard, MD

I agree that this is useful information, but everyone should be aware
that the test is far from a complete screen for a stroke.  Someone may
have a headache, fainting, decreased level of consciousness, confusion,
difficulty walking, change in vision, or just numbness or tingling due to
a stroke.  So while this test might detect a stroke, it should not be
used to exclude one!  Strokes can also 'evolve' over time, which appears
to have been this case in this situation.

The three-hour window from onset of symptoms to treatment is generally
accurate with regards to thrombolytic (clot-buster) therapy.  A very few
people may have benefit between 3 and 6 hours.  Unfortunately, only a
minority of people with strokes are candidates for thrombolytic therapy,
mainly due to the risk of bleeding.  Up to 20 percent of strokes are of
the bleeding variety, not due to a clot. While thrombolytic therapy can
clearly benefit some people with strokes, it also quadruples the risk of
a bleeding stroke, which is almost always more serious.  The net effect
is that a very small percentage of stroke patients will benefit from
thrombolytic therapy.  So it is far from a panacea.

http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab000213.html

A newer treatment that is available in some stroke centers is a
corkscrew-like coil device. This can physically remove a blood clot from
some of the larger brain arteries without the risk of bleeding.

The bottom line is that any symptoms suggestive of a stroke should be
immediately evaluated.  Three hours is a very short time to get to the
hospital, be examined, have a CT scan and start treatment.  While the
great majority of people will not benefit from these newer therapies,
you just might be the one who will!  You won't know until after a
complete evaluation within the 3-hour window, so don't delay if there is
any question.

Scott Gettings, MD, FACEP


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