Recognising a StrokeThe four-letter check, and why every minute counts.Body & healthFAST. Any one sign is enough to call emergency services.1FaceAsk them to smile. Has one side dropped?2ArmsAsk them to raise both arms. Does one drift down?3SpeechIs it slurred, or are they struggling to find words?4TimeCall emergency services immediately. Note when symptomsstarted.ALSO POSSIBLESudden severe headache with no causeSudden loss of vision in one eyeSudden loss of balance or coordinationNumbness on one sideEducational reference. Symptoms that resolve within minutes still needemergency assessment — a TIA often precedes a stroke.Recognising a Strokelearnposters.com
Recognising a Stroke — printable health wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Recognising a Stroke, step by step

FAST. Any one sign is enough to call emergency services.

  1. FaceAsk them to smile. Has one side dropped?
  2. ArmsAsk them to raise both arms. Does one drift down?
  3. SpeechIs it slurred, or are they struggling to find words?
  4. TimeCall emergency services immediately. Note when symptoms started.

Also possible

  • Sudden severe headache with no cause
  • Sudden loss of vision in one eye
  • Sudden loss of balance or coordination
  • Numbness on one side

Educational reference. Symptoms that resolve within minutes still need emergency assessment — a TIA often precedes a stroke.

Questions about the Recognising a Stroke poster

What’s on the Recognising a Stroke poster?
4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. FAST. Any one sign is enough to call emergency services. Face — Ask them to smile. Has one side dropped?; Arms — Ask them to raise both arms. Does one drift down?; Speech — Is it slurred, or are they struggling to find words?; Time — Call emergency services immediately. Note when symptoms started.. Educational reference. Symptoms that resolve within minutes still need emergency assessment — a TIA often precedes a stroke.
Who is the Recognising a Stroke poster for?
Recognising a Stroke belongs to the Body & health section rather than to a school year, because health is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning first aid can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Recognising a Stroke poster?
Note the time symptoms began. Treatment options depend on it directly. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Recognising a Stroke belongs on the wall where that health work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Recognising a Stroke?
Anaphylaxis, Bleeding & Burns and Burn Depth sit alongside Recognising a Stroke in the Body & health section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.AnaphylaxisBleeding & BurnsBurn Depth
Is the Recognising a Stroke poster free to download and print?
Yes. Recognising a Stroke downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Body & health section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Recognising a Stroke poster print at?
Recognising a Stroke is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Recognising a Stroke loses nothing.Printing guide

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