Time is crucial in treating stroke victims, a New Taipei City neurologist said, urging the public to learn the “FAST” principle of strokes, as well as basic first aid, so medical treatment can be sought promptly.
“FAST” stands for “face, arms, speech and time.”
If a stroke is suspected, ask the victim to smile (face), raise both arms to the same height (arms), speak clearly (speech) — and then call an ambulance immediately (time) if the person is unable to do these things, En Chu Kong Hospital neurologist Lin Cheng-huai (林正懷) said.
The possibility of a stroke is about 72 percent if the person cannot do one of these things, and about 85 percent if the person cannot do all three, he said.
Lin said the first three hours after a stroke are crucial, as it is the best time to treat a stroke patient with thrombolytic agents, which improve blood flow and break up blood clots.
Acute ischemic strokes occur when blood traveling through an artery to the brain is suddenly blocked, causing the brain to be deprived of oxygen and immediate resumption of blood flow to the brain is necessary to avoid long-term injury, the doctor said.
Ministry of Health and Welfare statics showed cerebrovascular disease was the third leading cause of death by chronic diseases in 2014, following malignant tumors and heart disease.
En Chu Kong Hospital has a stroke center, staffed by neurologists 24 hours a day, but more than 80 percent of ischemic stroke patients treated at the hospital last year could not be given a thrombolytic agent because they were brought in more than three hours after their stoke, Lin said.
Hemorrhagic strokes occur more often in winter, while ischemic stroke often occur in summer due to dehydration, which causes the blood to thicken, he said.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition