MOZOK = CHAS (BRAIN = TIME)

This can happen to any one of us: according to the World Health Organization, one in four people over the age of 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime. We often do not take our health seriously. And sometimes this negligence can cost a life, or its quality.

One in three patients with a stroke dies, and 50% of those who survive are left with severe disabilities, losing their ability to care for themselves. Today, stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world and the second most common cause of prolonged disability. That is why many organizations are making efforts to form a joint action plan to improve the level of stroke care. Ukraine has also radically changed the vector of development of the stroke service in recent years.

The prioritization of stroke care in the programs of the National Health Service has created the preconditions for popularizing work on this issue, and today, in almost all cities of Ukraine, there is the possibility of providing highly specialized care to patients with stroke. However, how quickly a patient with a stroke begins to receive this highly specialized care depends on the people who are nearby, namely - on their knowledge of the first symptoms of stroke, the ability to recognize them, and to act correctly. The longer the provision of specialized care to such patients is delayed, the less chance they have of surviving and the possibility of returning to a full quality of life after treatment.

For more convenient memorization of how to detect the signs of a stroke according to the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 398 dated June 16, 2014, registered in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on July 7, 2014, under No. 756/25533 "ORDER of providing pre-medical aid to victims suspected of having a stroke" the scale “MOZOK – CHAS” (brain – time, which is a Ukrainian counterpart of “BE FAST”) was introduced:

 Speech [M - movlennia] - the presence of signs of speech impairment that occurred for the first time (ask about the first occurrence of such impairments in those around or relatives, note the incomprehensibility of speech, difficulties in understanding the language by the patient, performing simple commands and naming familiar objects or repeating a sentence)

Face [O - oblychchia] - the presence of facial asymmetry that occurred for the first time, at rest and when performing the command to smile or show your teeth

Dizziness [Z - zapamorochennia] - the presence of impaired coordination of movements, dizziness, unstable gait, inability to maintain balance, which occurred suddenly

Eyes [O - ochi] – vision impairment in one or both eyes, blurriness, or loss of fields of vision

Limbs [K - kintsivky] - the presence of weakness or discomfort, numbness, complete inability to move in the arm and/or leg

TIME [CHAS] - if you notice the appearance of at least one of the symptoms listed below, immediately call 103 and report that the person next to you has had a stroke.

Stroke concerns everyone, because any one of us can become the very person whose actions will determine how quickly doctors will begin to save the life of a patient with a stroke!