Tulsa news anchor Julie Chin had the beginnings of a stroke live on the air. She knew something was wrong, so tossed it to the meteorologist, as her concerned colleagues called 911. Photo / KJRH
Tulsa news anchor Julie Chin had the beginnings of a stroke live on the air. She knew something was wrong, so tossed it to the meteorologist, as her concerned colleagues called 911. Photo / KJRH
A US news anchor has been praised for her calmness after she likely suffered "the beginning of a stroke" during a live broadcast on Saturday morning.
Julie Chin was opening the show for TV station KJRH when she began to stumble over her words.
After several attempts and reading off the teleprompter she paused, before telling viewers: "Something is going on with me this morning, and I apologise."
Knowing something was wrong, Chin then quickly cued up meteorologist Anne Brown to start her segment early.
Alerting her colleagues to a potentially serious health incident, they called emergency services while others continued with their segments.
Tulsa news anchor Julie Chin had the beginnings of a stroke live on the air. She knew something was wrong, so tossed it to the meteorologist, as her concerned colleagues called 911. Photo / KJRH
Taking to social media, Chin posted an update explaining what had happened.
"The past few days are still a little bit of a mystery, but my doctors believe I had the beginnings of a stroke live on the air Saturday morning. Some of you witnessed it firsthand, and I'm so sorry that happened," Chin wrote in a Facebook post.
"The episode seemed to have come out of nowhere. I felt great before our show," she continued, but noted that a handful of concerning symptoms developed quickly once the newscast started.
"First, I lost partial vision in one eye," Chin explained. "A little bit later my hand and arm went numb. Then, I knew I was in big trouble when my mouth would not speak the words that were right in front of me on the teleprompter. If you were watching Saturday morning, you know how desperately I tried to steer the show forward, but the words just wouldn't come."
"At this point, doctors think I had the beginnings of a stroke, but not a full stroke.
"There are still lots of questions, and lots to follow up on, but the bottom line is I should be just fine."
Chin shared some advice she had learned from experts following her frightening episode on air, saying the signs of a stroke aren't always obvious and action is critical.
She referenced an acronym — BE FAST — that can help identify the first symptoms of a stroke. The letters stand for: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, Time and terrible headache.
They correspond with early stroke signals that are important to recognise because diagnosing a stroke can determine whether a person suffering from one receives effective treatment.
Treatments work best when a stroke is diagnosed within three hours of the onset of symptoms, according to the CDC.
