New sign of stroke. Share and save lives.

[OldRedneck]

11. I'm an Advanced Life Support - Cardiac EMT . . . .

The original post is not entirely incorrect and those who dismiss it do so at their own peril and the possible peril of others.

There is a simple three-step test that can identify a stroke: The Cincinnati Pre-Hospital Stroke Scale. Here it is, copied from Wikipedia, which is an excellent description of the test. Anyone can do this.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Prehospital_Stroke_Scale

The Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale is a system used to diagnose the presence of a stroke in a patient. It tests three signs for abnormal findings which may indicate that the patient is having a stroke. If any one of the three tests shows abnormal findings, the patient may be having a stroke and should be transported to a hospital as soon as possible.

Facial droop: Have the person smile or show his or her teeth. If one side doesn't move as well as the other so it seems to droop, that could be sign of a stroke.
Normal: Both sides of face move equally
Abnormal: One side of face does not move as well as the other (or at all)

Arm drift: Have the person close his or her eyes and hold his or her arms straight out in front for about 10 seconds. If one arm does not move, or one arm winds up drifting down more than the other, that could be a sign of a stroke.
Normal: Both arms move equally or not at all.
Abnormal: One arm does not move, or one arm drifts down compared with the other side.

Speech: Have the person say, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," or some other simple, familiar saying. If the person slurs the words, gets some words wrong, or is unable to speak, that could be sign of stroke.
Normal: Patient uses correct words with no slurring
Abnormal: Slurred or inappropriate words or mute

Patients with 1 of these 3 findings as a new event have a 72% probability of an ischemic stroke. If all 3 findings are present the probability of an acute stroke is more than 85%

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Go to this site:
http://www.strokeassociation.org/idc/groups/stroke-public/@wcm/@hcm/@sta/documents/downloadable/ucm_454087.pdf
Print the card, memorize it.

The part about the tongue may or may not be useful. Facial droop and slurred speech are caused by inability to control certain muscles and those same muscle groups certainly could cause the tongue to be unmanageable.

Time is of the essence in identifying and treating a stroke. There's a one-to-three-hour window that we call the Golden Hour. If you get to a stroke center within 1-3 hours of onset, the docs can reverse all, most, or some of the effects of the stroke -- not immediately -- you'll have a lot of therapy but they can do marvelous things to reverse the effects of a stroke. I have two friends both of whom were in stroke treatment centers within two hours of onset. They both suffered strokes about 24 months ago. One of them shows no signs of ever having had a stroke, the other still has weakness in one arm but is on his way to regain full use . . . both are in their late 60's.

Remember: There are two types of stroke.
-- ISCHEMIC, which is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain; 85 - 90 percent of strokes are ischemic.
http://www.strokecenter.org/patients/about-stroke/ischemic-stroke/
-- HEMORRHAGIC, which is caused by a burst blood vessel in the brain (it's a bit more complicated but that's the short version); these account for 10 - 15 percent of strokes. http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hemorrhagic-stroke

Hemorrhagic strokes can be, and often are, fatal or permanently debilitating mainly because treatment requires invasive procedures to stop the bleeding inside the skull and reduce pressure on the brain. That is, surgery by a neurosurgeon usually is required, it must be started quickly, and most people don't have strokes in a neurosurgeon's operating room.

Ischemic strokes can be treated with thrombolitic drugs . . . clot-busters, which can be administered in emergency rooms before transport to a stroke center.

If you want to, copy the Wikipedia article and the stroke warning signs card I have listed above and send them to everyone you know. Or not. Your life, your choice.