Heart and Stroke Foundation asks Canadians to act ‘FAST’
Posted Dec 3, 2014 7:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation has launched a new campaign to help Canadians quickly recognize the signs of a stroke.
They want you to remember the acronym FAST: which stands for face, arm, speech, and time.
The symptoms of a stroke include a drooping face, an inability to raise your arms, and slurred speech.
Calgary Stroke Neurologist Michael Hill says there’s also one major obstacle that keeps people from getting to the hospital quickly.
“They don’t recognize their symptoms themselves because the stroke often incapacitates you,” he explained. “It’s your brain that affected with a stroke and it makes it impossible for you to realize that there’s something bad going on.”
Hill explains, the faster you can get medical help the more likely you are for survival and to recover without disability.
