"Stroke patients are dying or suffering life-long disabilities because people typically wait an hour and a half before dialling 999, the NHS has warned.
"Health bosses say tens of thousands more victims could be saved or make a fuller recovery if the public called for an ambulance at the first sign of symptoms.
"NHS England is today launching the first major update to its 'Act FAST' stroke awareness campaign since 2009.
"It encourages people to act immediately if anyone experiences one of the three common symptoms, including struggling to smile, struggling to raise an arm or slurring their words." . . .
"The NHS says rapid diagnosis and treatment is 'critical' as stoke victims may lose around 2million brain cells a minute, with delays contributing to greater harm and hampering recovery."...
"There are two major kinds of stroke:"
1. ISCHEMIC STROKE
An ischemic stroke - which accounts for 80 per cent of strokes - occurs when there is a blockage in a blood vessel that prevents blood from reaching part of the brain.
2. HEMORRHAGIC STROKE
The more rare, a hemorrhagic stroke, occurs when a blood vessel bursts, flooding part of the brain with too much blood while depriving other areas of adequate blood supply.
It can be the result of an AVM, or arteriovenous malformation (an abnormal cluster of blood vessels), in the brain.
Thirty percent of subarachnoid hemorrhage sufferers die before reaching the hospital. A further 25 per cent die within 24 hours. And 40 per cent of survivors die within a week.
RISK FACTORS
"Age, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, family history, and history of a previous stroke or TIA (a mini stroke) are all risk factors for having a stroke." . . .
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