What Is Cerebrovascular Accident?
6. Arms
The second letter stands for arms. If you do suspect a stroke, then ask the patient to hold both of their arms out. Provided the patient has no other medical condition preventing them from doing so, this should be easy for them to achieve. If this is too difficult for them, something is probably very wrong.
When the patient holds their arms out, they should be able to keep both straight out at equal height. If they are unable to lift one arm then it could be because they have had a stroke. The same goes if they are not able to stop an arm from drifting downwards after lifting it up.
Advertisement
