🚨 Stroke warning signs
A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is suddenly blocked or a blood vessel bursts, leading to brain damage. Recognizing early signs can save a life.
Stroke
🧠 FAST warning signs (most important)
🟢 F — Face drooping
- One side of the face may droop or feel numb
- Smile becomes uneven
🟢 A — Arm weakness
- One arm may feel weak or drift downward
- Cannot lift both arms equally
🟢 S — Speech difficulty
- Slurred speech
- Trouble speaking or understanding words
🟢 T — Time to call emergency help
- If any of these appear, seek urgent medical care immediately
⚠️ Other common warning signs
- Sudden numbness or weakness in face, arm, or leg (especially one side)
- Sudden confusion or trouble understanding speech
- Sudden vision loss in one or both eyes
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
- Loss of balance, dizziness, or trouble walking
🧠 Mini-stroke warning (TIA)
Sometimes symptoms disappear within minutes or hours:
Transient ischemic attack
- This is a warning sign of a future stroke
- Needs urgent medical evaluation even if symptoms go away
🚑 What to do immediately
- Call emergency services right away
- Do not wait for symptoms to improve
- Note the time symptoms started
- Do not give food, drink, or medication
🧠 Simple takeaway
If you see face drooping, arm weakness, or speech trouble, treat it as a medical emergency—every minute matters for brain survival.
If you want, I can also explain:
- stroke risk factors (high BP, diabetes, smoking)
- how to reduce stroke risk
- or differences between stroke and heart attack symptoms