BE-FAST
Medical abbreviation · Neurology
| Stands for | Balance, Eyes, Face, Arm, Speech, Time |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
BE-FAST stands for Balance, Eyes, Face, Arm, Speech, Time, a neurology abbreviation.
Expanded version of the FAST stroke-recognition acronym that adds sudden loss of balance and sudden vision changes, aiming to catch posterior circulation strokes that the original test can miss. It is widely used in hospital and EMS stroke protocols.
Example: Triage nurse ran BE-FAST: positive for new double vision and unsteady gait, stroke alert called.
Usage notes
The acronym was developed at Intermountain Healthcare and studied in a 2017 paper showing that adding balance and eye symptoms reduced the proportion of missed strokes. Critics note that adding items can increase false alarms, so public campaigns differ in which version they promote. Both versions stress calling emergency services rather than driving to hospital.
Related abbreviations
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- AMS – Altered mental status
- ASIA – American Spinal Injury Association
- ASM – Antiseizure medication
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- AVM – Arteriovenous malformation
- CAA – Cerebral amyloid angiopathy
- cEEG – Continuous electroencephalography
- CIDP – Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- CIS – Clinically isolated syndrome
- CJD – Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- CMT – Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
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This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.