Harmon Moats, Stroke Educator with the Neurological Institute in Northern Manhattan has been teaching community members about stroke for many years. Here he shares information that he thinks everyone should know about this deadly illness. He says this information could save your life.

Q: If somebody thinks they may be having a stroke because they are having a typical stroke symptom, what should they do?

A: Get to the emergency room by ambulance, even if you live within walking distance. The reason for this is because someone in the ambulance will call ahead and alert the ER that you're coming. Do not wait to talk to your doctor first. Every minute counts!

There are four things that you should say to the hospital staff if you are able to talk:

1. You must say the S-word. You must say "stroke"!  To describe a symptom without saying stroke leaves room for the medical professionals to think you could be suffering from something other than stroke. I always feel it's better to have a doctor start with stroke and work backwards. So, "I think I'm having a stroke" is a very simple phrase, but it's very important to say.
2. Tell them the symptoms. Sometimes what happens when you tell a doctor "I'm having a stroke," they may say "listen, I'm the physician, let me determine that."  But if the patient says "I think I'm having a stroke because I can't move my right arm..." then the doctor will go, "hey, that does sound like it could be a stroke." So what you've done is put the doctor on the same page as you.
3. Tell the doctor when it started. "It started a half an hour ago." This is important because we want the patient to ask about getting t-PA which is the only emergency treatment for stroke and you can only get it within a certain amount of time.
4. Ask the doctor about getting t-PA, which is the new stroke treatment.

Recap

You want to say just four key things: (1) "I think I'm having a stroke" (2) "because ...." (I'm having a weakness in my right arm, or [list other possible symptoms] (3), "It started ...." (how long ago? [a half hour ago, an hour ago etc.]) (4) "Am I in time or able to get t-PA?" This gives the doctor everything they need to make a decision about the chances that the patient is suffering from stroke and whether or not the patient can receive t-PA.