Recognize signs of stroke

CALL for help IMMEDIATELY !

FAST is an easy way to remember the sudden signs of stroke. When you can spot the signs, you'll know that you need to call the national emergency number 911 in USA, 999 in UK, 112 in Europe right away.

FAST:

F	Face Drooping Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the mouth crooked while the person is smiling? Ask to smile and show the teeth.
A	Arm Weakness Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S	Speech Difficulty Is speech slurred? Is the person 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? Ask simple questions like: What day of the week is it today? Where are we now? Note slurred and confused speech.
T	Time to call the emergency number If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call the emergency number and get the person to the hospital immediately. Remember the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared. It is important to know this, because the treatment of a stroke that occurred recently is different from a stroke that occurred longer ago.

Sudden symptoms: (symptoms vary per person)

These are the alarm bells:

Sudden weakness or paralysis in the arm, leg, or on one side of the body; in arm or leg. Sleeping leg. Not being able to steer the arm properly; as if your arm has a life of its own. Not being able to write anymore. Altered handwriting
Crooked tongue
Numbness on one side of the body
Drooping half of face; one corner of the mouth, one eyelid
The pupil of that eye with drooping eyelid may be very small
Decreased vision with one or both eyes. Loss of vision, shrinking field of vision. Dark spot in the corner of the eye. Sudden loss of vision in one eye, drooping eye or double vision. Rolling eyes
Decrease in power
Decrease in coordination
Dizziness
Vertigo, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fever, hiccups or difficulty swallowing. Balance disorders
Very severe headache that comes on suddenly
Stabbing headache. Migraine in people who suffer from it Sometimes there is a feeling as if pins are stuck in the head
Decreased consciousness, loss of consciousness or sudden drowsiness
- including wanting to sleep a lot
Slurred or confused speech
Language problems, speaking more slowly or with difficulty or being unable to speak
Being disoriented, appearing confused
Difficulty understanding spoken language
Numbness on one side of the body, not being fully in the here and now
Nausea and vomiting
Difficulty swallowing or coughing
Just a fall, falling over
Some people behave as if they were drunk
Emotional lability
Difficulty breathing
Just feeling a 'snap' in the head and knowing that something is going on
Not being able to think
Not being able to read
Feeling bad
Seeing rainbow colors around lights
Seeing spots

Some people have been sent home with a burnout diagnosis. It turned out to be a stroke (CVA).

Information

A stroke is a non-congenital brain injury.

Of all strokes approximately:

80% is a cerebral infarction
20% is a cerebral hemorrhage

We have several pages about the different types of cerebral hemorrhage and several pages about the different cerebral infarctions.

We describe the complaints per artery on the page about the blood vessels of the brain.

Consequences

On the physical consequences page we discuss in detail all possible physical consequences.