BS: Recognising a Stroke

Subject: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: alanabit
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 07:05 AM

I don't know if this has been posted before, but it was an eye opener to me. I hope it is of value to my fellow Mudcatters:


_*Subject: Recognising a Stroke*_
__

A timely warning??!!

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.
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 getting to the patient
within 3 hours which is tough.

*RECOGNIZING A STROKE*.

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify

Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke
victim may suffer 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:

***1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.*
*2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.*
*3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)* (i.e...
It is
sunny out today)

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call paramedics
immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could
identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged
the general public to learn the three questions.

They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's
annual meeting last February.

Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and
treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.

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.

BE A FRIEND AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE,
you could save their lives.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: artbrooks
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 07:34 AM

This is all over the Web, but it doesn't seem to be as much BS as many similar warnings (usually attached to chain letters) are. There is a discussion of this, and a lot more information, at Snopes.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 07:37 AM

Well the send it out to 10 should tell you it is spam.

That said, I think some awareness of the possibility of a stroke should exist. We ended up getting my father into hospital earlier this year as I (and Pip) thought he had suffered a minor one. His speech was far from coherent and he had some difficulty with one arm for a short time. In that instance, it turned out (through the scans and whatever) not to be a stroke but something called post stroke epilepsy, a late effect of a stroke a few years' earlier. He's now on something called something like Epilim for it.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: alanabit
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 09:00 AM

I don't think it is Spam, because it is obviously not out there for any commercial gain. I can appreciate you would be bored, if you had seen it before, but I hadn't!

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: Mr Red
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 09:42 AM

OK I have the three's clocked. Now how do you test yourself?

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: RichM
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 09:52 AM

Thanks for the reminder, alanabit. 21 years ago, my first wife died of a stroke.


I forwarded these instructions to the friends on my email address list.

Rich

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: Peace
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 10:14 AM

That is good and accurate advice. First Responders use it as a fast diagnosis if no one knows the patient's history. People who have difficulty with the simple 'test'/instructions are treated as 'Load and Go'. That is, regardless of most other circumstances involved in the situation, they are transported to a hospital real fast.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: Jeri
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 10:18 AM

The test is valid. See "Just a minute: Bystanders may identify stroke symptoms in 60 seconds" at the American Stroke Association's website

The rest of the e-mail is the usual chain letter stuff (including a fictional "this really happened" moment. I'd consider it's spam, too, but only if I get it e-mailed to me with the "send this to everybody on the planet" order. See http://www.hoax-slayer.com/identify-stroke.html

I wouldn't want it e-mailed to me, but posted here, it DOES raise awareness and get folks looking for facts.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: artbrooks
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 10:26 AM

Herself, the occupational therapist, says that it isn't only the inability to do them...look out if the smile is one sided, or the arms come up very unevenly, or the sentence is garbled.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: leftydee
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 08:54 PM

Good thread! Thank you for the helpful information.   Lefty

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: open mike
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 09:19 PM

another test is to compare the strength in the arms by asking
the person to squeeze your hands...this may be friendlier than
asking them to raise their arms, as you can hold thier hands,
and they may need a reassuring touch if this is happening to
them--it is scary!

my dad had a severe stroke and was an invalid--disabled for
15 years before pawssing away.
he struggled with aphasia...inablitly to speak, and paralysis,
inabilty to walk.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: GUEST,Fullerton
Date: 26 Nov 05 - 05:29 AM

Gazillion thanks to alanabit for the info, I hope I never have to use it, but I may well have to because my Dad is at high risk of (another) stroke.

The mudcats usefulness never ceases to amaze me.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: Pip Freeman
Date: 26 Nov 05 - 06:29 AM

Not all strokes will strokes will show facial weakness or the speech affected. Strokes are very individual, there may be basic weakness of the muscles on the affected side, but there are many variations of sympoms. Never presume that because the person can speak or elevate both arms that he/she has not had a stroke. A minor TIA (transient ischaemic attack) may have occured and the symptoms have quickly passed, but this may be the forerunner of a major stroke.

If anyone has had an incident that was described, always take them to hospital as a precautionary measure, no one will complain that it was a waste of time, nor accuse you of unecessary panic. Time taken to do tests that could give deceptive answers is time wasted.

Re clot busting drugs in one of the links, the nature of the stroke, (a bleed or a clot) is vital to know before this is given.

Peter (husband) was incorrectly given streptokinase (a clot buster) as a doctor had misdiagnosed a simple ear problem. This caused a severe intercranial bleed and resulted in a very major stroke.

Loss of speech is fascinating, the speech centre is generally on the left side of the brain, it differs in right and left handers. Usually a left sided bleed causes a right paralysis and frequently the speech is affected. A right sided bleed gives a left paralysis and no speech affected. So it's all a lot more complex than it seems.

So it's always better to go and be checked out.

Subject: RE: BS: Recognising a Stroke
From: alanabit
Date: 26 Nov 05 - 07:52 AM

Useful information Pip and point taken. I am certainly a little wiser, thanks to the friend, who sent me the original article. The tests are so simple that even I can use them. If one less person is lost anywhere thanks to this, it is worth passing on.