A Legitimate E-Mail Chain Letter

Among the flotsam and jetsam of random e-mails that have been passed on to you for being one of someone's ten best friends, you may have received a message that provides advice for diagnosing a stroke. The core segment of the e-mail is this:

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps. Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.
2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today) If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

It sounds reasonable, but so many of these kind of chain e-mails are meritless. This one, however, is apparently correct in its content and based on an actual (albeit small) medical study. According to Snopes.com, the advice is basically sound, although it has not been officially endorsed by the American Stroke Association. Here's a broader explanation of the test:

Focal neurological signs such as slurred speech, unilateral facial droop, blurred vision, discoordination, and partial or total paralysis are often indicative of some sort of brain dysfunction and would be recognized as important markers by those in the medical profession. However, expecting laypeople to diagnose that something has gone terribly wrong in a loved one on the basis of that checklist would be reaching for too much; in that key moment few would be likely to remember what they were supposed to be looking for.

By distilling the assessment process down to three simple tests (smile, raise both arms, speak a simple sentence), anyone is likely to remember what to ask of someone they suspect has just undergone a stroke and to correctly interpret the information so gleaned. (The tests are pass/fail, after all, so if the person they were administered to couldn't smile, couldn't raise her arms, and was incoherent, the party observing all this wouldn't be at a loss for what to make of the results — she'd conclude her friend had undergone a stroke.)

File this in the category of things you hope you never have to deal with. Someday, thought, someone may be very, very glad you knew this.