About a month ago I was doing some training for the folks that protect our borders and this one student told me about this 4th indicator to a stroke. He received this information in an Email, so I had him forward it to me. Anyway here is the main part of the message:

Recognizing a Stroke -  Remember the “3″ steps, STR

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:

  1. S – Ask the individual to Smile.
  2. T – Ask the person to Talk and Speak a Simple Sentence.
  3. R – Ask them to Raise Both Arms.

The new sign of a stroke is to – Ask them to “Stick” out Your Tongue. Note: If the tongue is “crooked”, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

A Neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reversse the effects of a stroke… TOTALLY.  He siad the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.