Stroke

Lesson objectives:

• Learn to identify a stroke.
• Learn the proper response to strokes.

1. Discuss: What is a stroke?
   1. Blood flow to the brain getting blocked causing brain damage.
      1. A blood clot can block the pathway to the brain causing an ischemic stroke.
      2. A blood vessel in the brain can bust causing a hemorrhagic stroke.
   2. Most strokes happen to older adults, but they can happen to anyone.
2. Signs and symptoms:
   
   1.  Trouble with speech and language.
      1. This may include:
      2. Slurring of speech/trouble forming words.
      3. Difficulty understanding others.
   2. Drooling and trouble swallowing.
   3. Dropping features on one side of the face (such as the corner of an eye or the corner of the mouth)
   4. Trouble seeing (might effect one or both eyes)
   5. Weakness
   6. Paralysis or numbness of the face, legs and face. (especially on one half of the body)
   7. A sudden severe headache
   8. Dizziness
   9. Loss of balance
   10. Confusion
   11. Unresponsiveness
3. FAST is an acronym used to help check for the signs and symptoms of a stroke. It stands for Face, Arms, Speech, Time.
   1. Face
      1. Strokes will often affect one side of the body. One way to check for this is to see if one side of their face seems to be drooping.
      2. You could also ask the person to smile.
      3. If one half of the mouth moves more than the other, then they could be having a stroke.
   2. Arms
      1. Another way to check is to ask them to raise their arms to the same height.
      2. If one arm goes up more then the other, they could be having a stroke.
   3. Speech
      1. Stroke victims often have difficulty speaking.
      2. Ask the person to say a simple sentence for you.
      3. If they have difficulty saying it, they could be having a stroke.
   4. Time
      1. Take note of when the signs of a stroke started.
      2. The professionals need to know how long ago this started because some treatments are only effective for a certain time after it started.
4. Treating a stroke.
   1. Call 9-1-1
   2. Take notes as to when the victim started having symptoms and signs.
   3. Some of the treatments for stroke are only effective within a certain time frame after the onset of some symptoms.
   4. If the victim is having trouble breathing or is drooling, place them in Recovery position.