Volgograd explained how to recognize a stroke and what to do before the arrival of doctors

If you suspect a stroke, the bill goes literally for minutes. Resuscitation doctor Sergey Astafurov in an interview with Gazeta.Ru told what a simple action can save a life and dramatically affect the outcome of treatment.

You can recognize the trouble by three main signs: sudden asymmetry of the face (when smiling, one corner of the mouth remains lowered), sharp weakness or numbness of the arm and leg on one side of the body, as well as a sharp violation of speech. If you ask a person to raise both hands at the same time, and one of them does not listen, this is a wake-up call.

As the expert explained, the most important thing when these symptoms appear is to immediately call an ambulance and record the exact time when the person became ill (or when he was last seen in a normal, healthy condition).

“For doctors, this information is critically important, since the time of onset of symptoms directly depends on the choice of treatment tactics,” said Sergey Astafurov.

Before the arrival of doctors, the patient must be provided with complete rest. If he has lost consciousness, but continues to breathe, he should be gently turned on his side, so that in case of vomiting, the contents do not get into the airways.

The doctor strongly warns against attempts of self-treatment. Even if after a few minutes the person became better and the speech or movements were restored, you can not cancel the ambulance call. Lost time in stroke directly affects the patient's chances of recovery.