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 some doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.  Does one side of the face droop?

2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.  Does one arm drift downward?

3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE.  Are the words slurred?  Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 or get to an emergency room immediately.

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

 

Women in Your Life

More women than men die from stroke and twice as many women die from stroke than breast cancer.  However, according to a new poll from the National Stroke Association, nearly one-third of men aren’t able to help the women in their lives because they do not recognize even one stroke symptom. Read More

 

What is Stroke?

A stroke or "brain attack" occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery (a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body) or a blood vessel (a tube through which the blood moves through the body) breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain.  When either of these things happen, brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs.

When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain are lost.  These abilities include speech, movement and memory.  How a stroke patient is affected depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much the brain is damaged.

For example, someone who has a small stroke may experience only minor problems such as weakness of an arm or leg.  People who have larger strokes may be paralyzed on one side or lose their ability to speak.  Some people recover completely from strokes, but more than 2/3 of survivors will have some type of disability.

 

 

Getting Support

ASA Stroke Family Discussion Boards Join our free online discussion boards and start sharing with other stroke families today!

Stroke Support Groups Seeking support from others who've experienced stroke can be a huge benefit to the recovery process. Stroke groups afford the opportunity to share feelings, ideas, resources and often provide important education for survivors and caregivers alike. more

Stroke Family Warmline The Warmline is a team of four people who answer calls from stroke survivors and their families, providing support and helpful information or just a listening ear. more

		Common Threads Pen Pals The day-to-day challenges, frustrations and accomplishments of a stroke survivor or caregiver can only be understood by someone who's been there. Register with Common Threads Pen Pals and begin corresponding with other stroke families. more

Stroke Connection Magazine SCM has a wealth of information for those recovering from stroke and individual subscriptions are absolutely free. Become a subscriber

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“The Smile Test,” also known as “a simple test for stroke,” A scientific poster presented at the 2003 International Stroke Conference titled “Untrained Adults Can Identify Symptoms of Stroke by Directed Use of the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale” suggested that asking three questions could help bystanders identify a stroke. This presentation by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine was one of 450 presentations made at the conference hosted by the American Stroke Association.  The poster showed positive results but was a very small study.  The research was funded by a grant from the American Stroke Association.  However, the American Stroke Association has not taken a position on this topic nor endorsed this test.