WARNING SIGNS OF STROKE

 

S = SPEECH, or any problems with language

T = TINGLING, or any numbness in the body

R = REMEMBER, or any problem with memory

O = OFF BALANCE, problems with connection

K = KILLER HEADACHE

E = EYES, or any problems with vision

 

Stroke is a medical emergency.

 

Source: This guide is by Dr Jill Bolte Taylor in her book ‘My Stroke of Insight: A brain scientist’s personal journey’, Plume: 2006, at p 26.

 

Who is Dr Jill Bolte Taylor? She is a 53 year old brain scientist with a Ph D in neuroanatomy from Indiana University. She did post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School and worked at the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry.

 

She is also the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, 2008.

“Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. An astonishing story.”

She “studied her own stroke as it happened -- and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.”


She suffered the stroke at age 37 and took eight years to fully recover from it.

For a great lecture, go to her YouTube in www.drjilltaylor.com [8,452,764 Views so far] (retrieved Thursday, May 17, 2012).

Recommend it to anyone who had a stroke or anyone associated with people who had had a stroke.

Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue


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 and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently),(i.e. It is sunny out today.)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher