Introduction
A stroke is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate medical treatment. This involves an interruption of the oxygen supply to the affected areas of the brain and nerve cells die. The longer this interruption lasts, the larger areas of the brain are affected.
Thus, the time until the necessary therapy is initiated plays a decisive role in the treatment of a stroke. In addition to rapid transport to a specialized hospital by medical personnel, early detection of a stroke plays a decisive role. There are a few memorizing aids for this, which every person should be able to do in order to be able to act quickly.
The FAST Test for Stroke
The “FAST-Test” offers laypersons the opportunity to assess for themselves whether a stroke has occurred or not. “FAST” is an acronym and is composed of several terms.
- The “F” stands for “Face”.
You ask the person concerned to smile. If a stroke has occurred, one of the corners of the mouth hangs down, a sign of hemiplegia.
- The person is also asked to stretch their arms (“A”) forward and turn their palms upwards. If an arm sinks or the palm of the hand is turned downwards, this is another sign that a stroke has occurred.
- In this test, “S” stands for the language. In this case, a basic inability to speak or a washed-out language must be taken into account.
- The “T” stands for “Time” and is intended to emphasize the importance of contacting the emergency service as quickly as possible.
Stroke emergency call
The fastest and most accurate emergency call possible is crucial for the prognosis of a stroke. There are several things that must be taken into account. Basically, the emergency number 112 is valid throughout Europe for cell phones and landlines.
It is absolutely necessary to raise the suspicion of a stroke so that an emergency doctor can be sent by the emergency service. Furthermore, the control center will ask some questions about the current situation, which all have to be answered. In any case one should wait until the control center ends the conversation. Important questions in this context are the exact location and possible complications during the journey. The more precise the information provided by the caller, the faster the emergency service will be on site.