Are you stroke ready? Know the signs and be prepared
Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 7, 2026
By Dr. Evan Small
for the Sequim Gazette
A stroke doesn’t wait for a convenient moment. It can strike anyone, of any age, without warning, and what happens in the first hour can mean the difference between full recovery and permanent disability. Strokes are one of the most time-sensitive emergencies we treat, yet in my years in emergency medicine, I’ve seen the same pattern repeat itself: patients arrive much later than they should, because someone wasn’t sure what they were seeing, or hoped the symptoms would pass on their own.
They rarely do. And waiting costs people dearly.
The good news is that strokes are highly treatable, but they must be recognized and acted on quickly. Here’s what you should know.
Know the warning signs
Learning to recognize a stroke in the moment can save someone’s life. An updated version of the familiar FAST acronym — BE-FAST — adds two important early signs:
• B — Balance: Sudden loss of balance or coordination
• E — Eyes: Sudden vision changes in one or both eyes
• F — Face drooping: Ask the person to smile. Is one side drooping or numb?
• A — Arm weakness: Ask them to raise both arms. Does one drift downward?
• S — Speech difficulty: Is their speech slurred or hard to understand?
• T — Time to call 911: If you see any of these signs, call immediately. Don’t wait to see if it improves.
Other warning signs include a sudden severe headache with no clear cause, sudden trouble walking or loss of balance, and sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body. Any of these symptoms, even if they seem to pass quickly, warrant an emergency call.
Why “wait and see” is so dangerous
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, either by a clot or a bleed. Brain cells start dying within minutes. The treatments that can reverse a stroke have strict time windows — in many cases measured in hours, not days.
This is why in emergency medicine we say “time is brain.” Every minute of delay narrows the options available to the care team. What might have been a recoverable event can become permanent disability if too much time passes before calling 911.
Call 911 — don’t drive
While driving to the ER might seem faster, always call 911 if you suspect a stroke. EMS crews can begin assessment en route and alert our emergency department before arrival, so the team is ready the moment you walk through the door. That coordination can shave critical minutes off your care timeline, and in a stroke, minutes matter enormously.
What happens when you arrive at OMC
Olympic Medical Center holds DNV Acute Stroke Ready (ASR) Certification, built on standards from the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association. In practice, that means rapid assessment, immediate access to the imaging and treatments needed for stroke care, and a fast, coordinated transfer to a higher-level stroke center when a patient needs advanced intervention.
Risk Factors worth knowing
Strokes don’t only happen to older adults, though risk does increase with age. High blood pressure is the single most significant controllable risk factor. Others include smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, obesity, and physical inactivity. If you have one or more of these, talk with your primary care provider about stroke prevention.
Family history matters too. If a close relative has had a stroke, your own risk is elevated.
Have a plan before you need one
The worst time to figure out what to do is while a stroke is happening. Talk with your family about the warning signs. Make sure everyone in your household knows to call 911 first, not to look up symptoms or wait it out. Know where your nearest emergency department is. If you take blood thinners or have a known cardiac condition, make sure your emergency contacts know.
Preparation sounds simple, but in a high-stress moment, it’s what determines how quickly someone gets help.
At Olympic Medical Center, we are committed to being ready when our community needs us. But the other half of the equation is a community that knows what to look for and isn’t afraid to act. Together, that’s how we save lives.
If you think someone is having a stroke, call 911 immediately. Olympic Medical Center’s Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For non-emergency questions about stroke risk and prevention, speak with your primary care provider.
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Dr. Evan Small is Emergency Services Medical Director at Olympic Medical Center
