UC Health

Cerebrovascular Center

234 Goodman Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 | (866) 941-UCNI (8264)

Signs & Symptoms of Stroke - FAST

The best way to treat a stroke is for people to learn what to recognize using FAST:

F — facial numbness or weakness, especially on one side.
A — arm numbness or weakness, especially on one side.
S — slurred speech or difficulty speaking.
T — time to call 911.

Other symptoms of stroke also may include: severe headache, dizziness, loss of balance, loss of vision or double vision. Surprisingly, pain is not a frequent symptom of stroke.

Press Releases

Telestroke Technology Speeds Care, Expertise »

Research Yields New Insight Into Gene Mutations Linked to Brain Bleeds »

Fatality Rate from Bleeding Stroke Declines in Cincinnati Region »

Prestigious Princeton (Stroke) Conference To Be Hosted by UC, UC Health »

UC Neuroscience Institute
University of Cincinnati Physicians
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Drake Center
Lindner Center of HOPE
Mayfield Clinic

For Patients

The UC Cerebrovascular Disease and Stroke Center is committed to providing our patients and their caregivers, family and friends with compassionate service and understanding to help make their experience as comfortable as possible.

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Locations & Directions »

Resources and Links

Drake Center START program (Stroke Team Assessment & Recovery Treatment) »
Tri-State Brain Aneurysm Support Group »

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UCNI Weekly Blog

Hope Stories

Leah's Story: Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)

Leah is a young woman who sings, dances, and plays the guitar. She is also a survivor of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

Amber’s Story: Ruptured Aneurysm

The only visible sign of Amber Gray’s ordeal is the long slender scar that runs along her forearm. It is the area where a surgeon carefully removed her radial artery, which was needed to bypass a damaged artery in her brain.

David's Story: Stroke

A few years ago, on a day that had begun like any other, David stood up to leave a restaurant following lunch and was hit by a gentle wave of dizziness. Unaware that he was suffering a stroke, David took a deep breath and kept walking toward his car. “It came on slowly,” David recalls. “But by the time I got to my car my legs and arms had stopped functioning properly.

Jeff's Story: Ruptured Aneurysm

Jeff’s remarkable story has two parts: recovery and reconstruction. He doesn’t remember the first part -- the recovery from a ruptured aneurysm. But he vividly remembers the second part -- the reconstruction of his airway.

Renee's Story: Stroke

When 33-year-old high energy mother Renee Young became ill with the flu in November 2007, the last thing she expected was she was about to suffer a stroke. But that was exactly what happened. As she tried to swallow medication and couldn’t, she realized something was drastically wrong.

Christine's Story: Stroke

There was a sliver of a chance, maybe, and most likely the emergency room doctor thought there was no chance at all. Christine had arrived at the community hospital comatose, brought by her parents, who had come home after working out to find her semi-conscious on the floor.

Alison's Story: Ruptured Aneurysm following Neurotrauma

She has completed medical school, has won the Flying Pig Marathon and has reached the summit of two of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks.Today Dr. Alison Delgado is tackling a mountain of a different kind.

Dick's Story: Ischemic Stroke

As a firefighter who attends regular EMS drills, Dick Koeniger was well versed in the signs and symptoms of stroke. While driving home with a friend one evening last June, he suddenly noticed that his peripheral vision was slightly impaired. Odd, he thought.

Zettie's Story: Aphasia

In November of 2004, Zettie Williams confronted what neurologists consider one of the most feared consequences of stroke. When a therapist showed her a photograph of her son, she knew she was looking at her son, but she couldn’t say his name.