Someone has a stroke in the UK every five minutes. Knowing what a stroke is and recognising the symptoms can make a vital difference to recovery.
Surveys regularly show that most people cannot name the three main symptoms of a stroke, yet strokes claim 67,000 lives a year and are the leading cause of disability. Thousands of deaths and cases of disability could be avoided if people could spot the symptoms and seek immediate treatment.
Stroke is caused by a disruption of the blood supply to the brain. There are two main types of stroke:
- Ischaemic is the most common form of stroke, caused by a blood clot which starves part of the brain of oxygen, leading to the death of brain cells.
- Haemorrhagic stroke is caused by the bursting of blood vessels, producing bleeding that causes damage.
The FAST test
The Face-Arm-Speech-Time (FAST) test lists the main symptoms to look out for:
- Face. Has the person's face fallen on one side? Can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped?
- Arms. Can the person raise both arms and keep them there?
- Speech. Is their speech slurred?
- Time. It's time to call 999 if you see one or more of these signs.
“FAST will pick up 90% of strokes,” says Dr Tony Rudd, stroke programme director at the Royal College of Physicians’ Clinical Effectiveness and Evaluation Unit.
“If people have one or more of these symptoms, they should call 999.”
"Time is brain" is the message from stroke experts. It means that prompt action can prevent further brain damage and help someone make a full recovery.
Delay can result in death or major long-term disabilities, such as paralysis, severe memory loss and communication problems.
Brain cells starved of oxygen will die, causing irreversible damage within three hours. However, if you can get the blood flowing again quickly, the damage can be averted.
Minor stroke (TIA)
It's more difficult to identify a minor stroke, also called a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). About one in five people who have a TIA go on to have a stroke, so spotting a TIA can save lives and prevent long-term disability.
“When you have a TIA, you have some symptoms, as with a stroke, but everything gets better within a few minutes or hours,” says Dr Rudd.
“The problem is that once the symptoms go away, many people pretend it didn’t happen.”
One person in three who has a TIA goes on to have a stroke within a month, and most of these will happen within days. “A proper diagnosis will significantly reduce the risk of somebody having a stroke after a TIA,” says Dr Rudd.
High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, a family history of stroke, heart disease, drug use, excessive drinking and smoking all increase the risk of a stroke.
“The older you are, the greater the risk,” says Dr Rudd. "People need to understand that stroke is a treatable condition. But it's much more treatable if you can intervene quickly.”
For more information on the treatment for a stroke, see the Health A-Z sections on Stroke treatment and TIA treatment. Watch a video on TIA.
