BOSTON -- A simple one-minute test that anyone can administer can help detect early signs of a stroke.

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NewsCenter 5's Rhonda Mann said that a smile can tell you a lot about a person. It can even tell you if they're having a stroke.

"Most people, when they smile, there's a nice symmetry. Both sides come up the same. But in someone who has a stroke, one side may not," Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital's Dr. Joel Stein said.

Experts said that a simple test -- starting by asking someone to smile -- can help detect stroke at its earliest. Second, ask them to extend their arms.

"If the arm is weak it will drift down, which is often a sign of stroke," Stein said.

Finally, have them to repeat a simple sentence. Listen for slurred words.

Identifying stroke early is important because new medications can significantly decrease the chances of death and disability from a stroke. But they must be given within three hours of the start of symptoms.

"A stroke is not a painful condition in most people. Their hand is a little numb or they have trouble walking, and they don't get to medical care quickly enough," Stein said.

"I couldn't move," stroke victim Ray Driscoll said.

Driscoll was 46 years old when he suffered a stroke. Luckily, his wife, Gina, recognized the warning signs and got him to the hospital fast. After a long recovery, both like the idea of a test anyone can do.

"I think it would be wonderful. Anything that would help prevent what Ray had gone through, what we all had gone through, would be a terrific thing," she said.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in this country. Experts hope enlisting the public in early detection will save hundreds of lives each year.