New sign of a stroke

[Esther]

Blood  Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator,  the Tongue
STROKE: Remember  the 1st Three Letters.... S. T. R. 
 
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,  Jan e 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 6:00  pm   Jan e 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...
A  neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke  victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the  effects of a stroke...totally. He said  the trick was getting a stroke recognized,  diagnosed, and then getting the patient  medically cared for within 3 hours, which is  tough...
RECOGNIZING A STROKE
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.
Now doctors say 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.

 
If  he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these  tasks, call emergency number immediately  and describe the symptoms to the  dispatcher.
New  Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your  Tongue
NOTE:  Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: 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.
A  cardiologist says if everyone who gets this  e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that  at least one life will be saved. 
I  have done my part. Will  you?
 
 

[Marie Fisher]

Esther, that's very good advice you just gave to us all.  Thank you.
All us "spring chickens"  (not) should read it.

Marie Fisher

[Esther]

I think my mom was having mini strokes for about 7-8 months before she died of one. But they were in Florida and I'm in Michigan and all I knew was that she fell several times and was alone but didn't remember why she fell. Then my dad began telling there were personality changes and I noticed a difference when we talked on the phone. But I don't remember now if they doctored about it or not. He just thought she fell and seeing she wasn't hurt probably didn't think anything of it. You know, this business of hindsight being better than foresight. Then I didn't have any idea but now I wonder.

[karen J]

That's good advice, especially the new tongue thing. My Mom's friend had a stroke a few weeks ago. They found her at home late morning, with a plate of spaghetti spilled on the floor next to her. Everyone feared that she had the stroke the night before, and she was there for more than 12 hours.

As luck would have it, she's now moving and talking. She doesn't remember anything, but everyone is hoping that she had her leftover spaghetti for breakfast, not the night before.

The raising your arms and smiling thing is to check if one side of the body is drooping or sagging.

[Esther]

My second cousin was at her grandma's house being fitted for her wedding dress. All of a sudden she noticed that Grandma was kind of garbling her words a bit. She called her mom who was a nurse before the kids and her mom said, "CALL 911!!" They came right away and luckily she didn't have too much damage seeing it was caught real quick.

[Desertponder]

I've never heard of having them stick out their tongue. That's not even something they teach us in EMS to recognize. Smiling, raising arms, etc., yes. Sticking out tongue, no.
I'm not sure I buy the part about total reversal if caught within 3 hours either. The odds are far better for the patient if they are treated within that time frame and the odds for a fully recovery are much higher.
In the field, more often than not it has been more than 3 hours since the onset of the stroke. People do not recognize what is happening. They live alone and cannot help themselves due to the stroke and are then found by a family member. Often times people will complain of a headache which other family members don't consider unusual. That person decides to go lie down and hours later they are not in good shape because the headache was actually a stroke.
Short term memory problems and agitation in an elderly person can be a sign of TIAs (mini strokes). Family and friends dismiss this most of the time.
I really shouldn't even say "elderly" because people as early as the age of 40 can have strokes.

[Esther]

Shanna, check it out. Maybe it is so new that it hasn't gotten to you yet. This email did say it was new but I have no idea where it originated. Of course there's nothing will help when a person is alone and doesn't have any idea anything is wrong.
As for time frame----I think they are stressing to get help QUICKLY whether you recognize what's happening is a stroke or not.

[Desertponder]

Yes, any time someone is not acting quite right and not normal for them, confused, dizzy, etc., someone should call 911 for help.