3 Steps of Stroke Assessment

The Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale checks three signs to assess for a stroke. The first is to check facial droop by asking the person to smile and checking for symmetry. Next is to ask them to hold both of their arms out in front with the palms of their hands facing up. The patient should do this with their eyes closed for at least ten seconds. If one of their arms drifts downward it would be an abnormal sign. The final assessment is speech. Ask the patient to repeat the sentence “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Abnormal findings would be slurred speech, wrong use of words, or the inability to speak at all.


If the suspected victim has an abnormal result for any of the three parts probability of stroke is 72%.