SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Blood Clots/Stroke – New, fourth indicator, the tongue

STROKE: Remember the 1st three letters: S. T. R.


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stroke diagrahm
During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall. She assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics). She said she had 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, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Jane's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital – at 6 p.m. Jane passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Jane 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 ...
If a neurologist can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke … totally. The trick is getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting the patient medical care 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.

A bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S – Ask the individual to SMILE.
T – Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today.)
R – Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
4th (New Sign): Ask the person to 'stick' out his 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 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.