Recognize a stroke and a heart attack by their signs, understand that minutes count, and avoid wasting time on “lie down and it'll pass.”
Minutes, not “lie down and it'll pass”
Stroke and heart attack
With a stroke or a heart attack, minutes count — and both are easy to blame on tiredness.
Check for a stroke with FAST. Face: ask them to smile — one corner of the mouth doesn't lift. Arm: ask them to raise both arms — one drifts down. Speech: ask them to repeat a simple phrase — the words are slurred, or they don't understand. Time: note when the signs appeared and tell the doctors — treatment depends on it.
Any “yes”: call 911 right away. Lay them down and give nothing by mouth — no water, no food, no pills. Watch their breathing. Don't drive them yourself unless an ambulance will clearly take longer: the crew starts treatment on the spot.
A heart attack often doesn't hurt — it's more like pressure behind the breastbone, so people wait it out at home. Sit them up or lay them down, whichever they prefer, call, and stay close. Help them take their own nitroglycerin if it's prescribed for them. International guidelines add: help them chew aspirin, 150–500 mg (in the US: one regular 325 mg tablet or two to four 81 mg low-dose tablets), if they have no known allergy.
Giving your own aspirin is your call or the dispatcher's, not this course's. Never give someone else's prescription medicine.
What it looks like: a neighbor's speech is slurred. You ask her to smile — the left corner doesn't lift. That's a “yes”: call and check the time.
Lesson notes
Stroke and heart attack
With a stroke or a heart attack, minutes count — and both are easy to blame on tiredness.
Check for a stroke with FAST. Face: ask them to smile — one corner of the mouth doesn't lift. Arm: ask them to raise both arms — one drifts down. Speech: ask them to repeat a simple phrase — the words are slurred, or they don't understand. Time: note when the signs appeared and tell the doctors — treatment depends on it.
Any “yes”: call 911 right away. Lay them down and give nothing by mouth — no water, no food, no pills. Watch their breathing. Don't drive them yourself unless an ambulance will clearly take longer: the crew starts treatment on the spot.
A heart attack often doesn't hurt — it's more like pressure behind the breastbone, so people wait it out at home. Sit them up or lay them down, whichever they prefer, call, and stay close. Help them take their own nitroglycerin if it's prescribed for them. International guidelines add: help them chew aspirin, 150–500 mg (in the US: one regular 325 mg tablet or two to four 81 mg low-dose tablets), if they have no known allergy.
Giving your own aspirin is your call or the dispatcher's, not this course's. Never give someone else's prescription medicine.
What it looks like: a neighbor's speech is slurred. You ask her to smile — the left corner doesn't lift. That's a “yes”: call and check the time.