A stroke is when blood stops flowing to a part of your brain. It can affect things like speech and movement, and take a long time to recover. A stroke needs urgent medical help in hospital because it can be life-threatening.
Check for signs of a stroke
The main symptoms of a stroke can happen suddenly. They may include
- Face weakness – one side of your face may droop (fall) and it might be hard to smile
- Arm weakness – you may not be able to fully lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in 1 arm
- Speech problems – you may slur your words or sound confused
The easiest way to remember these symptoms is the word FAST.
This stands for: Face, Arms, Speech and Time to call 999.
What causes a stroke
A stroke can happen to anyone at any age, but your risk may increase if:
- You're over 50 years old
- You're from a Black or South Asian background
- You have sickle cell disease (SCD)
- You have an unhealthy lifestyle
- You have migraines
- You take the combined contraceptive pill
- You're pregnant and have pre-eclampsia
- You've just had a baby
Certain conditions also increase the risk of stroke. These include:
âšī¸ Where else can I find helpful information?
Reducing the risk of a stroke
If you have a stroke, or a transient ischaemic stroke (TIA, or mini-stroke), you're more at risk of having another stroke. But there are things you can do to lower the risk.
Do
- Quit smoking đ
- Eat a balanced diet đĨ
- Exercise
- Cut down on alcohol đˇ
Don’t
- Do not forget to take medicines for any underlying conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes – talk to a GP if you have any problems with your medicine
