When to seek emergency help

Call 911 or your local emergency number right away if you or someone you're with has signs or symptoms of a stroke.

Use F.A.S.T. to help remember warning signs.

• Face. Does the face droop on one side when the person tries to smile?
• Arms. Is one arm lower when the person tries to raise both arms? Is one arm weak or numb?
• Speech. Can the person repeat a simple sentence? Is speech slurred or hard to understand?
• Time. Every minute counts during a stroke. Call 911 or your local emergency number right away if you see any of these signs.

Other stroke symptoms that come on suddenly and need emergency care include:

• Weakness or numbness on one side of the body, including either leg.
• Confusion and having trouble speaking or understanding someone speaking.
• Having trouble seeing in one or both eyes. This may include dimming, blurring or loss of vision.
• Severe headache — a bolt out of the blue — with no known cause.
• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or a sudden fall.