F.A.S.T is the current acronym for stroke. Face, Arms, Speech and Time. This is a great tool in helping to identify a stroke, however people who suffer from posterior strokes occurring in the cerebellum rarely have the F.A.S.T symptoms but will usually have balance problems and vision loss/changes. This is where the B.E comes in.. 

B; Balance

E; Eyes

I started this petition as in September 2020 I suffered a stroke in my cerebellum (posterior part of brain) after a bilateral Vertebral Artery Dissection. My symptoms were Ataxia (loss of balance), blurred double vision, vomiting and an ice-pick style headache. I was shrugged off as just having a migraine and vertigo as I was not FAST positive. It took 6 hours to get a CT scan and I was sent home with an outpatient appointment for an MRI a week later. It took a total of 2 weeks to be diagnosed.. Had it been recognised early on, I may have been a candidate for the clot busting drug which could have stopped or at least reduced the damage of the stroke.
People all around the world have been through the same thing, sometimes even waiting months for someone to take them seriously as medical staff are so focused on someone being FAST positive to diagnose stroke, people like me are falling through the cracks.

In a US study published in 2017; 14.1% of stroke patients who would not have been identified by FAST alone was reduced to 4.4% with the addition of balance and visual symptoms (BE-FAST)

Each year in Australia approximately 50,000 people will have a stroke. By replacing the FAST acronym with BEFAST, 4850 people who would otherwise go undiagnosed will have access to faster treatment, potentially saving their life.

My aim is to change the acronym from F.A.S.T to B.E.F.A.S.T to include posterior strokes. 
Together we can make a difference.