05/24/2024
May is Stroke Awareness Month, The Stroke Coordinators from Samaritan Health Services wanted to make sure the community knows how to rapidly recognize strokes. To help easily recall the symptoms of a stroke they use the acronym B.E.F.A.S.T. B stands for Balance/Dizziness, difficulty walking, listing to one side. E Stands for eyes, blurred vision, double vision or loss of vision. F is for facial droop, or numbness on one side of the face. A is for arm, is one arm weaker than the other? If one arm is weaker than the other, check the strength in your leg as there may be some weakness as well on the same side as your arm. S is for Speech, this could be slurred speech, mumbling/garbled speech, inappropriate words, or the inability to speak at all. T is for Time. Call 911 and make sure to take note of when the symptoms started. Time is Brain, for every hour you are having a stroke you lose 3.6 years of brain function. There are a few emergent treatments available, head to the nearest hospital immediately.
