FAST (stroke)
History
Facial drooping: A section of the face, usually only on one side, that is drooping and hard to move. This can be recognized by a crooked smile. Arm weakness: The inability to raise one's arm fully, or the inability to hold something or squeeze i.e. someone's hand. Speech difficulties: An inability or difficulty to understand or produce speech, slurred speech or having difficulty repeating even a basic sentence such as "The sky is blue". Time: If any of the symptoms above are showing, time is of the essence; call the emergency services and go to the hospital immediately. It is also important to check the time so that you'll know when the first symptoms appeared (time is brain) The FAST acronym was developed in the UK in 1998 by a group of stroke physicians, ambulance personnel, and an emergency department physician and was designed to be an integral part of a training package for ambulance staff. The acronym was created to expedite administration of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator to patients within 3 hours of acute stroke symptom onset. The instruments at this time with most evidence of validity were the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) and the Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Screen (LAPSS).
FAST (stroke)-2