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Act F.A.S.T with Stroke can Save Lives

Posted on Oct 30, 2008 under Award, Death, Health, Information, Life, Prevention Better than Cure, Saving Lives, Stroke Symptoms, Stroke Test and diagnosis | 36 Comments

Today, I will be touching on a heavy topic and yet this could concern you and I and people around us. According to the National Stroke Association, Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and the No. 1 cause of adult disability. Fortunately, according to them, “80% of strokes are preventable.” Thus we have the POWER in us to prevent Stroke.

What is Stroke?

According to MayoClinic.com, “A Stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of your brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Within a few minutes, brain cells begin to die.” And according to the fact sheet by National Stroke Association, “Two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing risk of permanent brain damage, disability or death. Recognizing symptoms and acting fast to get medical attention can save a life and limit disabilities.”

In so speaking, time is an important factor here and it can very well be the deciding factor on whether the person suffering from a Stroke attack can recover completely. Therapy with clot-busting drugs must start within three hours. Quick treatment not only improves your chances of survival, but may also reduce the amount of complications resulting from the stroke. The challenge is recognizing Stroke as most people are unaware of the symptoms.

How do we recognize the symptoms of Stroke?

The symptoms of Stroke include:

  • 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

    • In recognizing these symptoms, there is an easy test to further determine if a person has suffered from Stroke attack or are having symptoms of Stroke. I received an email from a friend about this simple test and decided to Google for some information to check its validity. True enough, I found a few sources providing the same information.

    From the National Stroke Association and from Better Health Channel, they provided this simple test call ‘F.A.S.T.’

    This simple test will help you detect stroke symptoms and Act F.A.S.T.:

    F: Facial weakness, can the person smile; have their mouth or eyes drooped?
    A: Arm weakness, can the person raise both arms? Does one arm drift downward?
    S: Speech difficulty, can the person speak clearly and understand what you say?
    T: Time to act, act FAST and call for ambulance or paramedics immediately

    According to the email which I received, it mentioned that there is one more way to know if a person has suffered a stroke - ask the person to stick out his/her tongue (I have not been able to verify this point). If the tongue is not straight or droops or slants to one side rather than coming straight out of his/her mouth, it is an indication of a Stroke.

    If the person has difficulty in performing any one of these tasks, it is more than likely he/she has suffered a Stroke and medical help should be IMMEDIATELY called for.

    As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure.” Since it was mentioned earlier that we have the POWER in us to prevent Stroke, let us take a look at some of the deciding factors:

  • Control high blood pressure (hypertension).
  • Lower your cholesterol and saturated fat intake.
  • Don’t smoke.
  • Control diabetes.
  • Maintain a healthy weight.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Manage stress.
  • Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all

    • Detailed information on prevention can be read at: MayoClinic.com, National Stroke Association and Better Health Channel.

    If we can act F.A.S.T with a person who has suffered from a Stroke, we can not only save the person’s life but also improve the person’s chance of complete recovery. You may view some statistics of Stroke from TheUniversityHospital.com. If this information is useful to you. Please pass around this F.A.S.T. Wishing everyone great health and goodness in every areas of your life.

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