Key Points
ÎÎThe chain of events favoring good functional outcome from an acute
ischemic stroke begins with the recognition of stroke when it occurs.
ÎÎData show that the public's knowledge of stroke warning signs remains
poor.
ÎÎFewer than half of 9-1-1 calls for stroke events were made within one
hour of symptom onset, and fewer than half of those callers thought
stroke was the cause of their symptoms.
ÎÎMany studies have demonstrated that intense and ongoing public
education about the signs and symptoms of stroke improves stroke
recognition.
ÎÎThe California Acute Stroke Pilot Registry (CASPR) reported that the
expected overall rate of fibrinolytic treatment within 3 hours could be
increased from 4.3% to 28.6% if all patients arrived early after onset.
ÎÎPublic education campaigns feature one of two stroke recognition
tools:
• The 5 "Suddens"
▶▶ Sudden weakness
▶▶ Sudden speech difficulty
▶▶ Sudden visual loss
▶▶ Sudden dizziness
▶▶ Sudden, severe headache)
• FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time)
▶▶ One or more of face weakness, arm weakness, and speech difficulty symptoms
are present in 88% of all strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)..