Although the above is true, the following needs to be read as well. This was found on this site.

 

Commentary:
The procedure for identifying a stroke that is outlined in this email forward is valid. According to information available on the American Stroke Association's website, the three questions outlined in the email are a medically viable method for a layperson to ascertain if a person is presenting with stroke symptoms.

The procedure was originally outlined in a report to the American Stroke Association's 28th International Stroke Conference. The report states that a bystander may be able to spot someone having a stroke by giving the person a simple, quick test to see if they can smile, raise both arms and keep them up, and speak a simple sentence coherently...

Certainly, the core information in the email is worth heeding. Knowing how to conduct this simple test could indeed save a person's life. The aforementioned report explains that if bystanders can relay results of this test to an emergency dispatcher, it could speed treatment to stroke patients. Time is crucial in treating stroke.

America's National Stroke Association lists the following as common symptoms of stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness,
• loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

Given this list of symptoms, it is easy to see how the simple three-question test could help identify a stroke.

However, there is an important point that needs to be considered. While the central information in the email is true, the absence of these symptoms does not necessarily indicate that a person is NOT having a stroke. It could be extremely dangerous to reach the conclusion that a person did not require medical attention just because he or she could successfully carry out the three steps outlined in the test. A site visitor relates the following real life experience, which graphically illustrates this potential danger:

My mother-in-law suffered a stroke this morning. I had just told her last week about the three simple tests for identifying someone who might be having a stroke (which I received via e-mail). She was having difficulty walking and had a little numbness on one side of her face but she was able to smile, lift her hands above her head and speak in coherent sentences. Thus, she concluded that she was not having a stroke and delayed seeing her doctor. The three simple tests certainly could help a bystander identify someone who might be having a stroke but the absence of these symptoms doesn't mean that a person is NOT having a stroke. I feel just awful that she delayed treatment because of what I told her and that she missed the window of opportunity to receive the thrombolytic (clot-busting) therapy. The damage is already done.

Furthermore, it appears that someone has seen fit to embellish the story by adding a description of an alleged incident in which the diagnostic test was used to good effect. However, there is no way of telling if "Susie" and "Sherry" are real people or just fictional characters designed to emphasize the information and add a folksy element to the message. Interestingly, the sentence, "A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people, you can bet that at least one life will be saved" is lifted verbatim from a hoax email that outlines a dubious "cough CPR" procedure for heart attack victims. Notably, earlier versions of the email did not include the "Susie and Sherry" story.

In any case, such embellishments are completely unnecessary and detract from the underlying message. A problem with email forwards is that the core information tends to become garbled or diluted as various individuals decide to add to or modify the message as it travels through cyberspace. For example, the current version implies that stumbling is potentially a key element in diagnosing a stroke. However, there is nothing about stumbling mentioned in the Stroke Association report. Although the NSA does identify loss of balance and difficulty walking as potential stroke symptoms, stumbling alone is hardly a valid indicator of an impending stroke.

This unfortunate tendency for messages to mutate as they travel means that it may not always be a good idea to pass on even those rare email forwards that contain factual and verifiable information. Also, as explained above, the misuse of such information due to false assumptions or lack of understanding can have dangerous repercussions. If you do decide to forward this email, I would suggest that you first remove the superfluous information it contains. Secondly, include a warning about the danger of not seeking medical attention just because a person can successfully perform the three steps. Thirdly, I think it would also be a good idea to add a link to the original source so that recipients can check the information for themselves.

The email, is of course well meant but too confusing. A simple 2 paragraphs would be sufficient, maybe starting with Has Someone Had A Stroke ? Then outline the signs...... If people were to phone the emergency services everytime someone had a fall they would be inundated. Speed , of course is essential to get victim to hospital, but unfortunately for a few, a stroke can come on slowly, a mini stroke then a full one afterwards, perhaps up to 24 hours later. 

I think that the Sue Johnson One's were effective enough. Also I noticed that the surgery was festooned with 'em. As a result of the illness medley I've had recently and my thorough Doctor, it transpires that my blood pressure is well up. But I have to wait a week for another set of BP tests (which I don't like) in the meantime I'm almost expecting to suffer a stroke, and sleeping even less well.

Try not too worry too much, easier said and done, i know. In the meantime try NOT to stress and watch your salt and fat levels. No smoking and no alcohol, of course. xx

both my parents have had severe strokes

my dad was wheelchair bound and no-one could understand him when he spoke except me (mind you, people had trouble understanding him before he was ill lol)

my ma-they told me not to expect her to live through the night-stubborn old sod was drinking a cuppa in the morning-away with the faries though

 from me too pirate

awww ta

but im used to it now

things have changed since my dad was ill

there was no rehab

just a 'you'll have to cope' attitude

at least theres a bit of help out there now

Yes there is, look after yourself too, by the way.......

well, im a perfect candidate for that-but if i trod carefully id never have any fun-same with the heart thing-they both had/have trouble there

im ok

i havent got one lol

Yes i know, life is for living, if we all worried about stuff, the nut houses would be full !! 

when i went for a blood pressure test the doc said i had the BP of a 16yr old school girl! i looked at him - gob open - he said his prof at med school said the same to him and that was the best way he could could describe that it was ok

mind you

i havent had one for a year

oh well

paroxetine

zopiclone

blue valium

booze

baccy

tattoos

loud music

cheese

thats me

..and a hook, a wooden leg, an eye patch and a parrot I hope, or you've just shattered my illusions completely!

 

(my ma had a stroke too btw.... however at age 68 the theory didn't seem to be act FAST it was let her lie in a coma for three days and if she lives we'll scan her brain.. oh yes, it's a blockage... too late by then for clot busters of course.  Never did understand her treatment -all about money I suppose...... if she'd been 30 odd she'd have been in that scanner before the ambulance was out the car park)

Not necessarily Kaffy! I had thrombosis ,took three months for them to finally scan my napper and figure it ,despite losing my sight ( fortunately temporarily) -  had real pressure in my head and pounding in my ears for weeks that they put down to sinus trouble .. turned out to be intracranial hypertension / elevated spinal fluid pressure,Clot busters would have sorted it had they scanned when I first went to  casualty , three months down the line was a bit too late for that! I think the policy,regardless of age,tends to be " wait and see" . Not good.

( their reasoning for the delay - they suspected benign intracranial hypertension,but figured it was unlikely as it tends to be overweight people who present with that - as I was a skinny git they figured it wouldn't be that  so didn't bother doing a lumbar puncture to check. That would have shown raised pressure, which would have led to a scan,which would have led to potentially curative treatment instead of the condition management we're on now)

Been qualified nurse for 16 years mainly in acute medicine, strokes are so difficult to halt once they start, there's a window in some cases where you can prevent further damage but once the bleed occurs( sometimes with only limited symptoms beforehand)  it is a very difficult thing to treat, prevention is the most important thing, high blood pressure, family history, smoking, diet etc etc. Looked after so many people who ask why me? Horrid thing to happen to you, so debilitating physically even if you are bright as a button mentally, like most things we need money to research, but instead finances are cut and we lose specialist nurses who really know how to treat this awful diagnosis,   Right I'm getting on a soap box now, sorry x

 

Blimey slinki.. that must have been scary.   Really disappointing how you were treated... I know you say it's 'condition management' now - I hope you keep well xxx

 

 

Hi juju.. i have to say my mum ws a prime candidate..hbp, smoker etc.   However we were told much depended on whether it was caused by a bleed or a blockage... now it seems they're saying if it's a blockage and treated early with clot busters the prognosis is much improved.   Mum's was a blockage.. but they didn't find that out for four days.   I actually think they were just waiting for her to die.. she had the stroke on a Saturday morning.. they left her drifting in and out of a coma until the Tuesday morning when a junior doctor stood at the bottom of her bed and told us she would 'just sleep away'      She woke up that afternoon and lived for another five years albeit it paralysed, semi blind and mentally much deteriorated.    Just makes me wonder what might have happened if she'd had clot busters on the Saturday.    (Sorry - i tend ot get on my soap box too    It's a horrible thing to happen to anyone)

FGS......I am glad you have pointed out the signs..........

 

But as I sit here typing, doing things you advice against........I am happy..(and petulant)...even at my age I am   

Ta Kaffy! I'm good ta, spinal fluid pressure is pretty much controlled by meds for now( bloomin altitude sickness tablets! ! ) and lumbar punctures do the job if the tabs don't , but had the right drugs been there at the right time,I'd have been sorted. I think half the trouble is the availability of scanners, they pinpoint pretty quickly if it's a bleed or a block, and the right action can be taken then, but very few people get tested in time.