Recognizing a stroke

A friend just emailed this to me this useful info.
BB

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
The woman stumbled and took a little fall ... she assured everyone she was fine (they offered to call paramedics)... she claimed she tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food.
Though she appeared a bit shaken up, the lady went about enjoying herself the rest of the afternoon. Her husband called later saying that his wife had been taken to the hospital and passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the party. Had
they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps the woman would be with us today. Some stroke victims 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 three hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke . . . totally. He said the trick was having a stroke recognized, diagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within three hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE:
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.
If he or she has trouble with any one of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to ten people, you can bet at least one life will be saved.

Kathleen Fuller, Wellness educator
800-932-1843 business
760-420-4729 cell
call the 24-hr. listen and learn line 1-800-942-1260 to hear what medical professions are saying!!