Having received several 'chain' emails over the years referring to the recognition of occurring strokes I decided to check out some of the claims as some were starting to sound suspicious.
- Three simple tests [STR] anyone can administer can help diagnose the occurrence of a stroke: True.
- Making a stroke victim bleed from his fingers will prevent further harm: False.
- Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue. if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke. While that is also likely [true], as a test it is far less valuable than the original three [STR] because there is
- room for interpretation of the results.
The STR test, Smile, Talk, Raise your Arms, is effective but it probably shouldn't be used to rule out a problem. In other words if the person passes the test but there still seems to be something wrong medical help should still be considered. For more detail on the validity of the email claims visit: snopes.com: Three Simple Tests to Detect a Stroke
The links at Snopes for reading the AHA's report on the 'Three Simple Test' are out dated. A more current link for Stroke and Heart Attack recognition is: American Heart Association
The link at Snopes for the "Stroke Fact Sheet" is current.
Also check out: videos & info.
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