May is National Stroke Awareness month in the UK. The annual event aims to raise awareness of the impact of strokes on sufferers and their families, as well as educating the public on the signs and symptoms, causes and what to do in the event of someone suffering a stroke.
With many people in isolation during this difficult time, we wanted to highlight some of the common warning signs in our weekly post so that you can act quickly if you spot the signs in yourself, or someone else.
The Stroke Association recommends FAST as a good way to identify the 3 most common signals of a stroke. This includes:
Facial Weakness: Has their face fallen on one side
Arm Weakness: Can the person raise both arms
Speech problems: Can the person speak clearly or is their speech slurred
Time: If you see any of these three signs call 999.
As well as the above, some people also experience blurred vision, sudden memory loss, confusion, dizziness or a severe headache. It is impossible to know if symptoms will pass, so it is imperative that you don’t wait - medical help needs to be received as soon as possible. Make May Purple is the Stroke Association’s fundraising and awareness campaign that coincides with National Stroke Awareness month. Their website offers some ideas on how you can connect with the association and the community for support and advice: https://www.stroke.org.uk/fundraising/make-may-purple
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