I rarely pass on information I receive in email chain letters. But since this message might save lives, here it is, unattributed, since I don’t know who originally wrote it or created the image:
RECOGNIZING A STROKE: The 1st Three Letters + S— S.T.R.S.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov), strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States. 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 realize what’s happening. A bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S
* Ask the person to SMILE.
T
* Ask the person to TALK and coherently speak a simple sentence—for instance, “It is sunny out today?”
R
* Ask her or him to RAISE both hands.
S
*Ask the person to STICK out his or her tongue. If the tongue is “crooked” and goes to one side or the other, that’s an indication of a possible stroke.
If the person has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. To learn more about strokes, check out the CDC “Stroke” Web pages here.
Tags: cardivascular, elderly, fitness, Health, stroke
