Western New York is one of the hardest hit areas in the country for stroke and heart disease.

Unfortunately, many of those experiencing a stroke don't know it. Not knowing the signs, stroke victims don't seek professional help, decreasing the recovery rate.

Dealing with these dangers, the Research Center for Stroke and Heart Disease of the Jacobs Neurological Institute in Buffalo, created Agent S.A.M.: The Stroke Awareness Mission.

An innovative way to educate about stroke and heart disease, Agent S.A.M. was recently presented by Williamsville resident Shannon Carrow, executive director of the center, at the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Promotion Conference held in Atlanta.

Carrow said the center was one of 40 programs selected for presentation at the national conference. Only 10 percent of the submissions were selected.

To be selected, the center had to submit an abstract on its study about nine months in advance.

"We gave a basic description about implementing programs in communities, how it has made a difference and what new approaches we are taking," Carrow said.

Agent S.A.M. educates fourth- and fifth-graders about stroke through an educational theatre production by Theatre of Youth Company. The children learn the basics: what a stroke is, the warning signs and the appropriate response.

After taking part in the production, children then turn around and educate an adult, such as a family member, on what they have learned. Students are taught to educate adults, which includes a quiz on strokes.

The program places the role of teaching into the child's hand and during the 2005-06 school year, 3,200 Buffalo households were included in Agent S.A.M.

"We know the Western New York region has really terrible rates of stroke and heart disease," Carrow said. "Eighty percent can't tell the warning signs of a stroke and didn't know to call for help immediately."

The center stated that Agent S.A.M. brings together a diverse group of community organizations to educate residents about a critical health issue and engages students as primary educators, thereby touching multiple generations.

Carrow said people need to be educated at a younger age about warning signs and that those signs mean emergency help is needed. By not knowing the signs or magnitude of the problem many stroke victims wait to get help and hurt their chances of a successful recovery.

Reaction to Agent S.A.M. was positive at the conference, with follow up still being requested from those who attended Carrow's presentation.

By being chosen as a presenter Carrow said it puts the center in the position of a research leader and will help it gain national recognition.

"It was a great opportunity to pick people's brains on the effectiveness of strategies," she said about attending the national conference.

The Research Center for Stroke and Heart Disease of the Jacobs Neurological Institute will continue to develop and use Agent S.A.M. to reach students.

Results from the program have shown that 90 percent of adults surveyed said they thought that teaching students stroke awareness through an educational theatre experience was very effective, and among participants, there was a 9 percent increase in the ability to cite sudden numbness and weakness on one side of the body as a major warning sign of stroke.

e-mail: jfinch@beenews.com