110,000 FOLK CAN BE SAVED AT A STROKE

THOUSANDS of people could be spared the devastation of having a stroke if the latest prevention procedures were properly funded.

A new report by the Stroke Association states that more than 110,000 people could be saved from the brain attacks by 2035 if there was a £10million investment into prevention research.

The charity’s latest report – Current, Future and Avoidable Costs of Stroke in the UK – warns that over the next 20 years, more people every year will be living with stroke.

They predict that by 2035, there will be more than two million stroke survivors in the UK, with about 700,000 living with long-term disabilities.

The Stroke Association’s Change The Story campaign aims to highlight the underfunding of research and calls on people to donate towards funding for more studies.

Andrea Cail, Scotland director of the Association, said: “Most strokes are preventable but there is still a lot we don’t know.

“We are funding a number of smaller studies focusing on stroke prevention, including blood pressure management, treatments for atrial fibrillation and the prevention of haemorrhagic stroke in the future. These latest findings show that a £10million investment into these types of studies could save more than 110,000 people from having a stroke by 2035.

“The annual number of stroke survivors is expected to increase dramatically by 2035 and the cost to the NHS is set to rise to over £10billion in 2035 – from around £3billion in 2015.

“We need to act now to prevent the UK from sleepwalking towards a stroke crisis.”

Professor Anita Patel, who led the research, said: “Increasing research investment will help us turn the tide for people with a higher risk of stroke, allowing us to take steps to prevent the condition more widely.

“For example, we know that current treatments for high blood pressure don’t work for everyone and are not always used properly.

“More research could help us discover which medication and dosage works best for different people, ensuring we can help prevent more people from having a stroke.”