Do you know the signs of a stroke???

I thought I knew but I learned a few things from this email

Please do your part and send it on, I did mine. It may just be one of US it saves.

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Steps

A friend sent this to me and encouraged me to spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and 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, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the! hospital - (at 6:00pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid 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
Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!
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 . to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)
R*Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue! ... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke - Also give the individual 2 Aspirins as they will help to thin out there blood...

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Good night girl! Your thread title freaked me out! I thought you were having a stroke!!! Glad that's not the case!!!

Another interesting thought on that. Migraines can affect people in much the same ways stroke does. Before the pain starts there's this weird feeling, some have lights -aura, and some don't. During this time it can be very hard to do simple tasks, even reading and speaking coherent sentences can be nearly impossible.

There are a certain percentage of strokes that are migrainous in origin.

This one strikes a little close to home. When I was 29, I had a stroke. Though it took them several years to actually figure out why, one of the contributing factors was that I have had migraines( with the aura) since I was twelve. Many people with migraines( like myself) have narrower vessels. When a migraine hits, these vessels contract and in my case, a blood clot had gone through a hole in my heart they didn't know I had, went up to the brain and got stuck. The other major factor was that I was on birth control pills, which caused the clot to be thrown in the first place.

Please be aware and check with your doctor if you are on Birth control pills and have true migraines( many people people call their headaches migraines, but they really aren't. Lie in a dark room for two days with wavy lines across your eyes throwing up to really understand a migraine!). Strokes can happen to anyone, anytime. At 29, I had no other risk factors. I was not overweight, didn't smoke, etc. but when all the right conditions hit at the right( or wrong time), stuff happens. Education is so important, because as the first post pointed out, time is your enemy with a stroke. The more you know, the quicker you can react.