May is stroke awareness month. People need to act quickly to avoid lasting damage when they happen – and remember the acronym “BE FAST.” ‘B’ stands for balance and watch if someone is losing it. ‘E’ stands for eyes and changes to vision. ‘F’ is for face and signs of it drooping. ‘A’ is for arms and looking for signs that one arm is dropping when raised. ‘S’ is for speech, listening to hear if it’s slurred. And ‘T’ stands for time to call 9-1-1 if any of these signs are present.  Dr. Jennifer Pary is a stroke neurologist at Kaiser Permanente in Spokane. She says in a stroke, time equals brain. Pary says there are factors that increase the risk of stroke, including diabetes and high cholesterol, but the main factor people should keep in mind is blood pressure.