So the warning signs of stroke are fairly easy to remember and should be something that all of us know both in the public and in the medical community. The way I always teach people to remember this is the word fast, which is FAST. Four letters to remember. Each one of those letters helps you identify certain signs and symptoms of a stroke. F standing for face which is ask the person to smile or to move their facial muscles. If one side doesn't work, that's a strike against him or a warning sign for stroke. The next letter a, is for arms and you ask the person to raise their arms. If only one arm can raise or if one arm appears to be heavy or difficult for that person to raise, that's strike two or another stroke warning sign. The third letter in the word fast is S. And S stands for speech, it's as simple as asking a person to say a sentence. Try to avoid using the person’s name when asking them because sometimes they can still say their name when having stroke like symptoms, but if you ask them to repeat a sentence many folks will have difficulty doing that. And that’s your third warning sign. And that last letter T, which is, if you've identified these symptoms, even if you've identified one of the three letters we just talked about, you should think T. You think about calling 911 or take action is another way to use that key word. If you have one of the three of those stroke symptoms identified you have you have a roughly 70% chance of successfully diagnosing a stroke in someone or a loved one. If you have all three of those present you have over a 90% chance of being accurate in diagnosing stroke and that last letter is so critical which is take action or think about calling 911 right away.
