Help wanted: Stroke awareness

A stroke can happen at any age

This month, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C. [British Columbia] and Yukon launched a two-year campaign to familiarize people with the five signs of stroke -- rapid onset of weakness, speech impairment, vision problems, severe headache and dizziness -- and the urgency of immediate treatment.

The stroke awareness campaign is needed, according to statistics from the foundation.

- A survey in 2007 found fewer than 54 per cent of British Columbians could name just two of the five stroke warning signs.

- About 1,500 people (roughly one-third of stroke victims) in B.C. die within a year of their stroke.

- A conservative estimate pegs the annual cost of strokes in B.C. at more than $330 million.