STROKE is a serious, life-threatening condition that affects thousands of people each year in the UK, both directly and the friends and family of those who have suffered a stroke, writes Dr Richard Davies, Chair and Clinical Lead, NHS Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group.
With more than 100,000 strokes a year in the UK resulting in around 40,000 deaths, it’s important as many people as possible are aware of its signs.
Earlier this month, the Act F.A.S.T campaign was launched to raise awareness of a stroke and reinforce the importance of acting quickly if you notice any of those signs in yourself or others.
The main symptoms can be remembered with the word FAST: Face-Arms-Speech-Time:
· Face – the face may have dropped on one side, the person may not be able to smile or their mouth or eye may have dropped
· Arms – the person with suspected stroke may not be able to lift both arms and keep them there because of arm weakness or numbness in one arm
· Speech – their speech may be slurred or the person may not be able to talk at all despite appearing to be awake
· Time – it is time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms.
It’s important people know these symptoms and to act as quickly as possible because the sooner a person receives treatment the more likely they are to make a better recovery.
There are also a number of things people can do to reduce the risk of having a stroke.
These include healthy diet, taking regular exercise, reducing alcohol intake and not smoking.
Lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol levels can also help.
For more on the Act FAST S.T campaign visit www.nhs.uk/actfast/Pages/stroke.aspx.
To stay up-to-date with Redditch doctors, follow @RB_CCG on Twitter.
