Quick Stroke Test
A team of stroke researchers has devised a one-minute test that can be used by ordinary people to diagnose stroke — and the test is so simple that even a child can use it. Such an easy, quick test could potentially save thousands of stroke sufferers from the disabling effects by allowing faster treatment.
“It is just three simple steps” says Jane Brice, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. It is so simple, we call it “We call it: Talk, wave, smile.”
1. Bystander told the patients, “Show me your teeth.” The “smile test” is used to check for one-sided facial weakness — a classic sign of stroke.
If you are alone and able to stand smile at yourself in a mirror
2. Then the patients were told to close their eyes and raise their arms. Stroke patients usually cannot raise both arms to the same height, a sign of arm weakness. A ”zombie walk” or arms held straight out in front of the patient is a very good measure of arm strength or weakness.
Again, if you are alone look for a drooping hand in a mirror.
3. Finally, the patients were asked to repeat a simple sentence to check for slurring of speech, which is another classic sign of stroke. A simple phrases such as “Don’t cry over spilled milk.” Works very well.
“This is all about time,” says Edgar J. Kenton III, professor of clinical neurology at Thomas Jefferson University in Wynnewood, Pa. Kenton says that clot-busting drugs used to treat most strokes can only be given within the first three hours after a stroke. Thus, he and other stroke specialists constantly seek ways to speed treatment.
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