Tara Murray
If you or someone you know was having a stroke, would you know?
The Stroke Foundation recommends using the F.A.S.T test which is an easy way to remember the most common signs of strokes.
The test involves asking these simple questions:
-Face: Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?
-Arms: Can they lift both arms?
-Speech: Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
-Time: Is critical. If you see any of these signs, call triple-0 straight away.
Facial weakness, arm weakness and difficulty with speech are the most common symptoms or signs of a stroke.
Other signs include dizziness, loss of vision, headache and difficulty swallowing.
Sometimes the signs disappear within a short time, such as a few minutes. When this happens, it may be a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). After a TIA, your risk of stroke is higher. Stroke can lead to death or disability. A TIA is a warning that you may have a stroke and an opportunity to prevent this from happening.
If you or someone else experiences the signs of stroke, no matter how long they last, call 000 immediately.
Across the Geelong region, Barwon Health treats around 50 to 60 people a month that have suffered a stroke.
One of those was Ocean Grove mother Gemma Wearmouth, who experienced the importance of recognising the signs of stroke, which may have saved her life.
In May 2019, Gemma arrived home from work and was talking to her husband outside her car when she felt an onset of vertigo as her vision blurred. Her husband and quick-thinking neighbour called an ambulance and within minutes, she was on her way to University Hospital Geelong’s Emergency Department. An MRI scan the next day confirmed Gemma had a stroke.
“It was very frightening,” Gemma said of her ordeal.
“I was unsure of what was happening at first and then just remember I couldn’t touch my nose.
“I was extremely lucky that my neighbour and my husband knew the signs and the F.A.S.T. test. It can happen to anybody at any time – everyone needs to be aware of those signs.”
