General information only, not medical, legal, tax, or investment advice. Consult a qualified professional.
Face droops, one arm fails, speech slurs. Call now
In one line
Ask for a smile, both arms up, and a short sentence. If any of that fails, call 119 in Japan or 911 in the U.S. Don’t drive them yourself.
What it costs
Free. A few dozen seconds to look.
What you get
The sooner treatment starts, the better the chance of getting back to independent life. In a meta-analysis of individual patients, the odds were about 1.75 within 3 hours, about 1.26 from 3 to 4.5 hours, and no clear difference after 4.5 hours. Write down when the symptoms started.
How strong the evidence is
Source
Emberson J et al. (2014). Lancet.
Watch-outs
General information. No drug names and no doses. The book says not to give food, drink, or medicine, and not to wait it out. Call, because the crew picks a hospital that can treat the stroke.
Adapted from HowToLiveBetter item 13-3.
Next habitRelated
Best valueBuckle up, front seat and back
Wearing a seat belt in the front seat cuts the risk of dying in a crash by more than 40%. The back seat counts too.
Cool a burn under running water for 20 minutes
Run cool water over a burn for 20 minutes. Not ice. Don’t put on toothpaste, soy sauce, oil, or flour.
If they can’t speak, alternate back blows and thrusts
If someone over 1 year old cannot cough or speak, give 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts from behind. If they collapse, start CPR. Don’t fish in the mouth for something you can’t see.