BE FAST Versus FAST: A Randomized Pilot Trial Comparing Retention of Stroke Symptoms Between 2 Mnemonics

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Emergency Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• The Balance, Eye, Face, Arm, Speech, Time (BE FAST) acronym was developed to enhance public recognition of stroke signs.
• Previous studies indicated that adding balance and eye symptoms did not improve stroke detection rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the retention of stroke symptoms between the BE FAST and the original FAST acronyms.
• To assess the public's ability to recall stroke symptoms using different acronyms.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, assessor-blinded prospective pilot study was conducted with 174 participants.
• Participants were educated on either BE FAST or FAST and retention was tested at multiple time points.
• Mnemonic recall and symptom recall (full or partial) were assessed.

Main Results:

• Mnemonic recall at 30 days was similar between groups (79.5% vs. 69.8%).
• The BE FAST group demonstrated significantly lower retention for recalling all stroke symptoms at 3-5 minutes, 60 minutes, and 30 days compared to the FAST group.
• The FAST group showed significantly higher retention for partial recall of stroke symptoms across all tested time points.

Conclusions:

• The original FAST acronym resulted in significantly better retention and recall of stroke symptoms compared to BE FAST.
• Incorporating balance and eye symptoms into the FAST acronym led to decreased retention of common stroke warning signs.