An eminent neurologist recently said that when the following
procedures are applied, the side effects of cerebral strokes
may be totally reversed.
These procedures involve: identifying the stroke and reaching
the victim within three hours after its occurrence.
Suzy recovered from her massive cerebral stroke at a
surprisingly rapid pace. This was because Emily, who had seen
her collapse, had been able to identify the stroke by asking
Suzy to perform three activities. Suzy's failure to perform
them, enabled Emily to determine that she had suffered a
stroke and to summon an ambulance immediately.
Suzy had normal blood pressure, and her behavior didn't seem
to indicate that she had suffered a stroke, because she was
able, to a certain degree, to communicate with the paramedics
summoned to her home. Nonetheless, her inability to perform
the three activities caused the paramedics to rush her to the
hospital immediately.
Unfortunately, it is sometime difficult to identify stroke
symptoms, and a lack of knowledge on the part of the
spectator or person in attendance is liable to result in
permanent brain damage in the victim.
The most common sign of stroke is sudden weakness of the
face, arm or leg, more often on one side of the body.
Other warning signs may include:
* Sudden numbness of the face, arm or leg, especially on
one side of the body.
* Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
* Sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes
* Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or
coordination
* Sudden severe headache with no known cause
According to a report presented at the American Stroke
Association's 28th International Stroke Conference, a
spectator can identify a stroke by following these
procedures:
1) Asking the victim to smile.
2) Asking him to raise both his hands.
3) Asking him to say a number of simple words or sentences,
in a clear and consecutive manner, such as: It's hot
outside.
If the victim has difficulty with even one of these three
tasks, summon an ambulance immediately and describe his
reactions to the attending paramedics.
This simple three-item examination is used by healthcare
professionals. It is known as the Cincinnati Prehospital
Stroke Scale (CPSS).
