If you’re like most Americans, you don’t know the signs of stroke.
Only 8 percent of those recently surveyed in the American Stroke Association/Ad Council Stroke Awareness Continuous Tracking Study could identify each letter in F.A.S.T., an acronym of the most common stroke warning signs.
“Anyone can have a stroke and everyone should be ready,” said Starr Block, senior director, Quality and Systems Improvement, who as part of American Stroke Month in May is urging Kentucky residents to download a free mobile app to learn how to detect a stroke.
“Learning how to spot a stroke is just as important as teaching your family CPR or what to do in the event of a fire. With stroke — just like a cardiac arrest or a fire — seconds count,” she said.
F.A.S.T. is:
F – Face Drooping: Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile.
A – Arm Weakness: Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S – Speech Difficulty: Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence like, “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?
T – Time to call 9-1-1: If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get them to the hospital immediately.
Additional stroke signs include: Sudden severe headache with no known cause; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; or sudden confusion or trouble understanding.
The free Spot a Stroke F.A.S.T. app for iOS and Android is available in English and Spanish and includes a stroke warning sign quiz, high blood pressure chart and a searchable map of hospitals recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability and the nation’s No. 5 leading cause of death.
“Many people think of strokes as a disease of the elderly, but it can happen to anyone at any time, even very young people,” said Block. “When someone recognizes a stroke and quickly calls 9-1-1, the person has a greater chance of getting to an appropriate hospital quickly and being assessed for a clot-busting drug or other medical devices that may save their life and improve their chances for recovery.”
Teaching people how to recognize a stroke and respond quickly is a primary goal of the American Stroke Association’s Together to End Stroke initiative, sponsored nationally by Medtronic. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association.
For more information and to download the app, visit StrokeAssociation.org.
From American Heart Association