Simple Test for Stroke (STR -Smile,Talk & Raise)

 Simple Test for Stroke That Anyone Can Perform

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.

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.

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.

3. Finally, the patients were asked to repeat a simple sentence to check for slurring of speech, which is another classic sign of stroke. "In Cincinnati, the researchers asked patients to say, 'The sky is blue in Cincinnati,'" says Brice. But in the study, the researchers varied four simple phrases such as "Don't cry over spilled milk."

"This is all about time," says Edgar J. Kenton III, professor of clinical neurology at Thomas Jefferson University in Wynnewood, Pa. Kenton, who wasn't involved in the study, 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.

"This is so simple that even a child could use it. Look at how many children have saved their parents by doing CPR, and this is so much simpler," says Kenton. He says he thinks the test should be promoted for use by the general public.

By Peggy Peck
WebMD Health News