When assessing for arm drift of a patient with a suspected stroke, you should:

• A. expect to see one arm slowly drift down to the patient's side.
• B. ask the patient to close his or her eyes during the assessment.
• C. observe movement of the arms for approximately 2 minutes.
• D. ask the patient to hold his or her arms up with the palms down.

Answer: (B)

Arm drift testing screens for unilateral motor weakness that can accompany a stroke. Have the patient extend both arms forward with palms up and hold the position for a brief moment while ensuring the eyes are closed. Closing the eyes removes visual feedback so the patient can’t compensate for weakness with sight, making any drift due to true motor deficit easier to detect. If one arm drifts downward or cannot be held steady, that suggests weakness on that side and supports suspicion of a stroke. The arms are held in the palms-up position for a short duration because that standardizes the posture and helps reveal drift; waiting for minutes isn’t necessary and would be inefficient.