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'm not putting down this advice about recognizing strokes, or your
experience or career, Dave...but I do want to say a little something
about emails that get sent around a lot such as this one.
Generally, this good advice, and if everyone did follow it, there would
certainly be at least few more lives or futures saved,
BUT (and here's the but), the email, as being sent around (and as you
see it below) is not entirely accurate. The first three steps are good,
but the bit about the tongue is not a good indicator (for example, my
tongue sticks out crooked all the time...and how crooked is crooked?).
The ASA is also hesitant about endorsing these steps over their own
normal 5 warning signs to identifying a stroke victim because this study
was on too small a group of people.
The ASA's warning signs:
The warning signs of a stroke are:
* Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially
on one side of the body.
* Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding.
* Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
* Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
* Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
And as always, the best advice is if you suspect a stroke, but are not
sure, then call 911 anyway.
As in all emails that ask to send it on to "to 10 people" there is a
high risk that someone has added something of their own that may not be
accurate, or may even be hazardous.
That appears to be the case here, in a minor sense.
Read more about this particular email here:
www.snopes.com/medical/disease/stroke.asp
It also includes the ASA recommended procedure, and some other emails to
be wary of regarding stroke.
Harley Dixon
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