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The Stroke Association is the only national charity solely concerned with helping everyone affected by stroke. Our vision is to have a world where there are fewer strokes and all those touched by stroke get the help they need.
Introduction
Every five minutes someone in England and Wales has a stroke. Every year 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke. Stroke is the third biggest killer in the UK and the biggest cause of serious disability. It costs the NHS and Social Services over £2.5 billion a year to treat and care for people who have had a stroke.
A stroke doesn’t discriminate. It can happen to anyone at any time in their life. Strokes are sudden and their consequences can be devastating.
But you could be forgiven for not knowing that – awareness, research and prioritisation of stroke is lagging dangerously behind the other big killers: cancer and heart disease. For every £1 spent on stroke research, £20 is spent on Heart Disease and £50 is spent on Cancer . For every 90 stroke physicians in the UK there are 700 cardio physicians. This is unacceptable when inadequacies in stroke care still persist.
With more investment in organisational change the costs to the nation would be reduced:
- Investment in stroke prevention – Sustained health awareness campaigns could significantly reduce the incidence of stroke.
- Investment to guarantee that stroke is always treated as a medical emergency as is a Heart Attack - Early intervention and treatment by specialists can improve outcomes for all people who have had a stroke, lessening the severity of disability.
- Investment in hospitals - A properly funded, staffed and equipped stroke unit in every hospital would lead to better outcomes for patients and a reduction in the length of time people stay in hospital, freeing up beds and resources.
- Investment in care - Access to rehabilitation support, including occupational and speech therapy and physiotherapy, can make all the difference to people’s ability to rebuild their lives. Access to rehabilitation also speeds up discharge from hospital.
Stroke
Stroke is a term used to describe the effects of an interruption of the blood supply to a localised area of the brain. When a stroke occurs some brain cells are damaged or die. There are two main types of stroke; Ischaemic stroke – the most common type of stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain; and Haemorhagic stroke – caused by a bleed in the brain.
A Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), also known as a ‘mini stroke’, occurs when the brain’s blood supply is briefly interrupted. The symptoms of a TIA are very similar to a full stroke but last under 24 hours. Having a TIA indicates the likelihood of suffering a full stroke at a later date.
Symptoms of stroke
The immediate symptoms of stroke include sudden numbness, weakness or paralysis, sudden difficulty in speaking or understanding speech, dizziness, confusion, unsteadiness, severe headache, sudden blurring or loss of vision and loss of consciousness.
In the longer term stroke survivors may have one or more of the following symptoms in any combination: weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, speech and language difficulties, difficulties in perception and cognition, fatigue, emotional changes and mood swings.
For more information on The Stroke Association and our campaigns please contact Katherine Wiggins, Parliamentary Officer, , 020 7566 0326.
The Stroke Association
Stroke House
240 City Road
London EC1V 2PR
Registered Charity No. 211015
Stroke helpline: 0845 3033 100
Website: www.stroke.org.uk
Phone: 020 7566 0300
Fax: 020 7490 2686
Textphone: 020 7251 9096
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