F.A.S.T.

Stroke is the number two killer in the US, behind heart attack. The person who is having a stroke often complains of severe headache. The damage can be very severe. If you can get a stroke survivor within less than an hour of the event there are drugs that are effective that limit the damage area. These drugs apply for strokes that are mostly related to clotting. Others, still benefit from early diagnosis. It's kind of like ice on a fat lip. The sooner you put it there the less swollen it will be; the blood vessels have ruptured and the body is trying to remove waste blood - the ice helps the vessels to close..

So what this post is about today is that there is a test everyone should know that is used for a person that may be having a stroke. It is called FAST - try it if you suspect +any+ damage to the brain from trauma or a sudden event (like a really severe headache):

• F - acial Expression. Ask them to smile or something.
• A - rms. Ask them to raise both their arms.
• S - entence. Ask them to say a sentence
• T - ry. Try all three!

If you think someone is having a stroke. Think FAST.

Another aspect of stroke and early detection and prevention is to check your blood pressure. Actually I found study today that was kind of interesting. It was about if your blood pressure swings really hard during the day - if it rises sharply in the morning. I know a person who can get up at six am, almost furious. I could never understand how anyone could be so angry right out of bed.

Someone taught me that the most wear and tear on the heart is right when you wake up in the morning. So I have always risen by degrees.. actually it probably relates in some part to how I used to love to hear the sound of sharp conversation emanating from my grandmothers kitchen when we visited my grandparents home during my childhood. My uncles and aunts would all be gathered round and there were distinctive sounds for each one. You could tell who was speaking by the sound. Even though it was all the way down the hall.

I am the kind of person that can stay up for three hours holding one piece of ice in place on you. But I am also the kind of person that can put a piece of ice on you in a certain place and walk away for a half an hour. >:)

When the ad words come I am sure I am going to get ads for convenience stores. I am looking forward to them actually. A friend's site had these lamer ad words until she started running marathon + then the ad words just got cool, all of a sudden, the day that she started her plan. I think thats so neat. I wonder what my own brand of eclectic randomness will parse to be. Google is reviewing the adsense application now.

BTW just to bite the hand that feeds (lol) Google's secret isn't their database - the text analysis is within the scope of what a good dba can sort of do on her own. I heard Google's big trade secret is their server farm is set up on an amazing and proprietary filesystem that lets them access the disk really, really fast. I have heard a rumour that it's based on an old database system called PICC and most of what can be found for PICC open source can be used to build it yourself, if you try. good luck.