[First aid for stroke: how to recognise it and what to do]

When to think early about a stroke and what to do ? Rapid recognition of stroke symptoms leads to early treatment and improved clinical outcomes, with direct impact on stroke survival and functional outcome. The typical clinical presentation of a stroke consists of a sudden onset of a focal neurological deficit of maximum intensity at onset. Typical warning symptoms, that have been promoted in public awareness campaigns, are the sudden unilateral numbness or weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body, speech difficulty and visual trouble. It may also happen that a stroke has an unusual clinical presentation, 'false negatives' are called 'stroke chameleons', because the clinical presentation suggests another disorder. The call of the emergency number (number 15 in France) is the first thing to do in case of stroke symptom recognition. Stroke code allows to stroke management anticipation and significantly reduces the delays for early treatment.