Public Health Organizations Join Forces to Raise Awareness for Stroke Signs

Last year, Culver City Patch ran an article on local resident Katherine Wolf, a stroke victim who has made a remarkable recovery – and had the honor last year of meeting Captain Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords (click here to read the full story).

Now, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association have joined with the Ad Council to launch their first national multimedia public service campaign to raise awareness about F.A.S.T. an acronym for recognizing and responding to the sudden warning signs of stroke.

According to the Ad Council, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds in the United States and 28 percent of people don’t recognize the signs. The signs of F.A.S.T. are as follows:

• Face Drooping - Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile.
• Arm Weakness - Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?        
• Speech Difficulty - Is speech slurred? Is he or she unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like "the sky is blue." Is the sentence repeated correctly?
• Time to call 911 - If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get him or her to the hospital immediately.

When it comes to stroke, time is critical. F.A.S.T. is an acronym that can help people to spot a stroke quickly, so that they can get medical help as soon as possible. The quicker you get to a hospital, the quicker you can potentially get critical treatment that may reduce disability and death from stroke.  

For more information on the campaign visit: www.strokeassociation.org

For more information on Katherine, visit her blog, Hope Heals, at http://www.hope-heals.com/my-story#content.

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