Test to determine a whether a stroke is happening-Truth!

A Simple Test to Determine Whether a Person is Having a Stroke-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor The eRumor says that the American Stroke Associations suggests a simple three question test to give to someone who may be experiencing the symptoms of a stroke.


The Truth According to the website of the American Stroke Association (ASA) this eRumor is true. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association. In an article published in February of 2003, the ASA says that a 60-second test can help determine whether someone may be experiencing a stroke. The three question test has been used by health care professionals as an initial way of determining whether someone may be experiencing a stroke. But a research project by North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, N.C. looked into the question of whether non-medical professionals could administer the short test and correctly identify the symptoms of a possible stroke. The conclusions was yes, that bystanders could be helpful in determining whether a person is experiencing a stroke. One of the reasons they looked into it was to see whether bystanders could be helpful to a 9-1-1 dispatcher in helping narrow down what is happening to a potential patient. The three questions given to the suspected stroke sufferers were: Can you raise your arms and keep them up? Can you smile? Can you repeat a simple sentence? The study found that when non-medical volunteers were asked by a telephone dispatcher to administer the test, they correctly identified the symptoms 96 percent of the time...especially the raising of the arms and the speaking of a simple sentence. They were less effective in evaluating whether there was facial weakness in a smile, probably because of not knowing what the person's normal smile looked like. Doctors caution that this does not mean that citizens should try to diagnose stroke symptoms themselves. This study focused on citizens who were being given instruction over the telephone by emergency dispatchers. Any sign of weakness in the face, slurred speech, or weakness or numbness in the limbs should be evaluated by medical professionals immediately. If stroke victims are given proper help within 3 hours of the stroke, the ability to recover is greatly increased. CLICK HERE for more information posted on the the American Stroke Association website. updated 02/02/10
A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:
. Subject: stroke test This might be a lifesaver if we can remember the three questions! Is It a Stroke? This was published in a monthly newsletter where a friend of mine lives and he sent it on. I had never heard this advice before and hadn't a clue. Perhaps you hadn't either and would like to file it away in the back of your head. 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 doctors say any bystander can recognize a stroke asking three simple questions: * ask the individual to smile. * ask him or her to raise both arms. * ask the person to speak a simple sentence. If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. After discovering that a group of nonmedical 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 last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage." PASS IT ON...............