This year for Stroke Awareness Month the MEGA Brain made it’s way around the country teaching people of all ages what the signs and symptoms of a stroke are.
According to Stroke.org “In May alone, some 65,000 Americans will experience a stroke with many unaware that they were even at risk. Less than a third will arrive in the emergency room within three hours, the optimal time period for better outcomes.”
The acronym FAST is an easy way to identify the most common symptoms of a stroke:
B – Balance: Watch for a sudden loss of balance. Is the person leaning to one side or staggering when walking?
E – Eyes: Is there a sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes? Double vision that doesn’t go away when you blink your eyes. No side vision or vision above midline?
F – Face: Ask the person to smile or stick out their tongue. Is the smile uneven, is the tongue deviated to one side or does one side of the face droop? A bit of drooling out of that side of the face may be present.
A – Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? Is there sudden loss of coordination, numbness, weakness of that arm? For example, is the person suddenly unable to pick up a coffee cup or get it to his or her mouth? Does the arm or leg feel numb, or do they want to shake it all the time to wake it up like it’s asleep.
S – Speech: Sudden difficulty in speaking or understanding. Can the person repeat a simple phrase? Does the speech sound slurred/strange/garbled? Does the person say he or she has a thick tongue or have difficult in swallowing?
T – Time: What do you do if you observe any of these signs in yourself or in someone you are with? Call 911; do not drive the person to the local emergency room. By contacting EMS, assessment and treatment can be started prior to arrival to Emergency Department and time (brain) is saved. If known, note the time the patient was last seen well and give this information to emergency personnel along with any information you may have regarding the persons current medications. This will help determine what treatment the person is eligible for.
If you’re interested in bringing the MEGA Brain to your next event, get in touch with us and we’ll make it happen. Here’s an example of what your event looks like with a MEGA Brain!
