posted on March 17, 2007 09:25:21 PM new
Thought this might be a handy document for anyone who wants it. In regards to identifying if a person has had a stroke.Hope none of you ever need it.
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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.
T Ask to stick out toung, if tongue is crooked or goes to one side or the other either are signs of stroke.
{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.
posted on March 18, 2007 04:32:07 AM new
Hi Agate, been there, done that, thank heavens my husband knew enough to get me to the hospital immediately. It turned out I only had TIA's (3 within 45 minutes) with no brain damage but it was surely scary. It is all too true, you can't smile, sentences make no sense and for me, my entire right side would not respond to any command. I could not raise my right arm or even walk. After many, many tests the doctors do not know what happened but said most likely it was my homocystine (sp?) level in my blood was out of kilter and caused a 'little piece of heart muscle to break off and travel to the brain', think about that for a while! So I am on Foltex to control the homocystine and have had no problems in the last 2 years. I do not have high blood pressure or any plaque in my arteries so that wasn't it. Thank you for posting that, it is so true that you can get help if you do it fast.
