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01/23/2010: "The Tongue: A Stroke Indicator?"

STROKE IDENTIFICATION: Knowing to identify the signs of a stroke can save a life. Unfortunately a lack of awareness can spell disaster. A stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Recognizing A Stroke: A bystander may recognize a stroke by remembering the1st Three Letters of “STROKE”: S. T. R.


S *Ask the individual to “SMILE.”
T *Ask the person to “TALK” and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.g. Is it sunny out today.)
R *Ask him or her to “RAISE BOTH ARMS.”

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. Also record the when the first symptoms appeared. A clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke if given within three hours of the start of symptoms.

A neurologist has been quoted as saying that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. Tough to do if one does not know when an event has occurred

The traditional “warning signs and symptoms” put forth by the Heart & Stroke Foundation are:

1. Sudden weakness in face, arm, or leg
2. Sudden difficulty with speech or understanding someone else
3. Sudden difficulty with vision
4. Sudden severe, unusual headache
5. Sudden dizziness and a loss of balance

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is said to be: "Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue..If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke," however experts have also stated it can be very difficult for a lay person to correctly interpret the position of a tongue; and indeed some people can turn their tongue on edge, while others can not.

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) official statement on the "crooked tongue" indicator is they have not endorsed the test because the results, though positive, arose from a small AHA study.