The next life saved could be yours

Success in stroke awareness can be counted in many ways, but saving a life is the best way to count. From a British newspaper (Halstead Gazette) about a man who - thanks to an alert friend - received the help he needed:

Mr. (Roger) Foreman, a former builder who lives in Greenstead, is now backing a three-year government stroke awareness campaign, which it is hoped will save 700 lives a year in Essex.

The adverts are shocking, but could help to save some of the 67,000 people in the UK who die as a result of suffering a stroke each year. He said: “The more awareness there is, the better. When I visited the stroke centre in Colchester, I was surprised how many people were there.

“Some are only in their 30s. When you’re that age, you think you’re bullet-proof. You would never dream in a million years that you could have a stroke.”

Some only in their 30s. That was my case back in 1998, and if history is a guide, it will happen multiple times today, just in the United States. Better stroke awareness, and more of the 300-plus people hit by a stroke every day in the U.S. will recover.