One man in five dies before the age of 65.
TOGETHER we can change that.

Do you know the signs of a stroke?

10/03/21 . News

With worrying figures showing that the number of people going to hospital with a stroke fell during the lockdown, the government is relaunching a campaign to raise awareness.

A stroke is a serious life-threatening event that happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. Data from the lockdown period of the Covid-19 pandemic last year show that admissions to hospital for stroke fell. This is a concern because stroke is very time-sensitive. Any hesitancy and delay in getting treatment kills brain cells. Early treatment not only saves lives but results in a greater chance of a better recovery, as well as a likely reduction in permanent disability from stroke. 

The NHS stress that stroke is a medical emergency and anyone experiencing symptoms should seek urgent help.

Public Health England (PHE), supported by the Stroke Association, is relaunching the Act FAST campaign reminding people of the symptoms of stroke and why urgently calling 999 is vital in saving lives. Look out for the ads.

The signs of stroke are:

  • Face – has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?
  • Arms – can they raise both their arms and keep them there?
  • Speech – is their speech slurred?

The T in FAST stands for Time – if you have any of these symptoms, it is time to call 999.

Other signs of a stroke (or a mini-stroke called a TIA) include:

  • sudden loss of vision or blurred vision in one or both eyes
  • sudden weakness or numbness on one side of your body (including in your leg)
  • sudden memory loss or confusion
  • sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a sudden fall, especially with any of the other signs

There are around 100,000 strokes a year in the UK causing about 34,000 deaths per year. In 2020, men accounted for 52% of stroke admissions.

Juliet Bouverie of the Stroke Association, said:

Every 5 minutes, someone in the UK will have a stroke. Stroke kills tens of thousands and leaves others with complex and severe disability every year. Acting FAST is the biggest thing you can do to save a life. As soon as you see any of the signs of stroke in yourself or someone else, you need to call 999.

Last year we saw thousands of people with suspected stroke put off calling 999 due to fear of catching COVID-19 or being a burden on the NHS. People could now be living with more severe disability than they otherwise would because they put off calling 999. That’s why you need to know that acting FAST and calling 999 saves lives.

The FAST campaign

The Men’s Health Forum need your support

It’s tough for men to ask for help but if you don’t ask when you need it, things generally only get worse. So we’re asking.

In the UK, one man in five dies before the age of 65. If we had health policies and services that better reflected the needs of the whole population, it might not be like that. But it is. Policies and services and indeed men have been like this for a long time and they don’t change overnight just because we want them to.

It’s true that the UK’s men don’t have it bad compared to some other groups. We’re not asking you to ‘feel sorry’ for men or put them first. We’re talking here about something more complicated, something that falls outside the traditional charity fund-raising model of ‘doing something for those less fortunate than ourselves’. That model raises money but it seldom changes much. We’re talking about changing the way we look at the world. There is nothing inevitable about premature male death. Services accessible to all, a population better informed. These would benefit everyone - rich and poor, young and old, male and female - and that’s what we’re campaigning for.

We’re not asking you to look at images of pity, we’re just asking you to look around at the society you live in, at the men you know and at the families with sons, fathers and grandads missing.

Here’s our fund-raising page - please chip in if you can.

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