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Lack Of Knowledge “Fuelling Stroke Risk”

Monday 18 September 2006

People in Northern Ireland are risking death or disability because they are unaware of the causes and symptoms of stroke, according to a leading medical charity.

People in Northern Ireland are risking death or disability because they are unaware of the causes and symptoms of stroke, according to a leading medical charity.

A survey carried out by Millward Brown for NI Chest Heart and Stroke found that only 13% of people were aware that a high salt diet contributed towards the risk factors for the condition, while only 8% thought that physical inactivity could cause it. Eighty four people out of 100 did not think that a diet high in fat was a risk.

When it comes to recognising a stroke, the findings are equally shocking. Only 6% of people regard severe headache as a warning sign, while only 4% would see the failure to understand the spoken or written word as an indication that someone was having a stroke. One in five people are unaware that stroke affects the brain, while one in 10 think it affects the heart.

“The only good news from this survey is that half the population regards high blood pressure as a risk factor,” said the charity’s Chief Executive, Andrew Dougal. “But then again, that means half do not see it as a risk. Stroke needs to be treated as a medical emergency if the person affected is to have a decent chance of a good recovery. On this evidence, people are not only unaware of the risk factors, but also wouldn’t recognise many of the signs that someone close to them was having a stroke.”

The survey questioned 1,017 people in Northern Ireland in late August.
Said Mr Dougal: “Clearly this indicates that while some health messages are getting through to people, we have a great deal more work to do if stroke is to be recognised for what it is, namely a brain attack. It needs to be treated with the same urgency as heart attack, and people need to do more to prevent it.”

Around 4,000 strokes occur in Northern Ireland each year. One third of sufferers die, another third recover and the final third are left with permanent physical or mental effects. Stroke is the single biggest cause of disability. In the UK as a whole, somebody suffers a stroke every five minutes.

The main risk factors are high blood pressure, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity, high cholesterol, and some medical conditions such as diabetes.
The main symptoms indicating that someone is having a stroke are: Sudden severe and unexplained headache, sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, difficulty in speaking or understanding, loss of vision or blurred eyesight and sudden unexplained dizziness.

NI Chest Heart and Stroke will this week open a new support scheme for younger stroke survivors in Craigavon and Banbridge It will also host a major conference on the condition at the Tullyglass Hotel, Ballymena, this Friday, September 22nd.
Stroke, which was once thought of as an older people’s illness, is affecting more and more people in younger age groups. Those affected often suffer different effects from their older counterparts, such as having to cope with the loss of a job.
Whole families are affected by stroke, not just the survivor. Those affected may suffer personality changes and depression as well as physical disability.

It is estimated that the cost of stroke to the NHS is more than £2 billion a year in the UK as a whole.

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