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Andrea Esteban tried to smile with half her face, and her third-grade classmates laughed. Matthew Velez struggled to speak, “Luh, luh, uh, gronk,” and the kids burst into laughter. The funny faces and the strange speech were all part of a serious lesson to help kids learn the signs of a stroke. The experimental health education program at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx is aimed at improving the survival rate. Each year, about 795,000 Americans have a stroke and about 130,000 die. Some are caused by bleeding in the brain, but the majority is caused by a clot（血栓） that blocks blood flow, starving brain cells. The drug TPA can dissolve those clots and reduce disability and deaths but only if it’s given within three to four hours of the first symptoms, and the sooner the better. Yet only about 5 percent of patients receive it, in part because many stroke sufferers don’t get to the hospital in time. The early warning signs include a droopy （下垂的）side of the face, slurred（发音含糊的） or strange speech, and the inability to keep arms raised. Dr. Kathryn Kirchoff-Torres, who led the class from St. Ann’s School in the Bronx, said the kids are already “little message machines” bringing home from school what they learn about the benefits of exercise, not smoking and eating well. At the start of the stroke class last month at the hospital, the doctor asked, “Who knows what a stroke is?” “A heart attack?” one child offered. “Well, we like to call it a brain attack,” Kirchoff-Torres said. “It’s a problem with the brain.” She then taught the children to use the word “FAST” as a memory device. With cartoons and music bringing the point home, they learned “F” is for face, “A” is for arms, “S” is for speech and “T” is for time. After the class, the children were presented with pens labeled “FAST” and with pencil erasers in the shape of human brains, which were very popular.
