Health and Safety

Early treatment saves lives and increases the chance of the individual not suffering further more serious strokes and increases the chance of making a better recovery, but you have to act "FAST".

A stroke is a brain attack. A stroke happens due to a clot or bleed in the brain, that causes brain cells to die.

Things you Should Know About Strokes

• The signs of a stroke are sudden:
  • Facial weakness or numbness
  • Arm or leg weakness or numbness - especially on one side of the body,
  • Speech problems or confusion,
  • Trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
  These signs may only last a few hours and are called a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) or mini-stroke and must not be ignored.
• A stroke is an emergency. If you see the signs of a stroke act FAST and call 999. Urgent medical attention is needed.
• Early treatment saves lives and increases the chance of making a better recovery.
• Eating healthily, taking more exercise, not smoking and ensuring blood pressure is normal, can all help to prevent stroke.
• A TIA or mini-stroke has identical symptoms to a stroke, but lasts for less than 24 hours followed by a full recovery. A TIA or mini-stroke is a powerful warning that an area of the brain is being deprived of blood, and a stroke may follow in the next few hours, days, weeks or months.

Act F.A.S.T.

If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and do this simple test

• FACIAL WEAKNESS - Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
• ARM WEAKNESS - Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
• SPEECH PROBLEMS - Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can they repeat the sentence correctly?
• TEST ALL THREE Symptoms - If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. Call 999 or get to the hospital fast. Brain cells are dying.