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by lunarg on June 7th 2012, at 13:22

Got this in my mailbox. It's a set of questions designed to indicate the possible presence of symptoms of a stroke. It's a set of four tasks you can have someone perform. If someone is acting strangely, you can use these to highlight possible symptoms of a stroke. Of course, it's not a definite answer, but it should help to tell whether that person should see a doctor or go to the hospital right away.

These four tasks/questions are:

  • Talk: have the person speak a simple sentence.
  • Laugh: have the person laugh out loud (tell a joke or let them watch a funny show).
  • Arms up: have the person put up both of their arms simultaneously.
  • Tongue: have the person stick out their tongue.

Failure to any of these tasks could mean it's a symptom of a stroke.

It's very important because an early detection of a stroke will save lives. If a stroke isn't caught on time, it could mean permanent brain damage, or even result in death. When found on time, its effects can usually be reversed (almost) completely.