Heart and Stroke Foundation launches FAST campaign

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is trying to make it easier for Canadians to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

It's launching a new campaign today called FAST, which stands for Face, Arms, Speech and Time.

The goal is to try to get people responding more quickly to the signs of stroke.

Sue Verrilli from Sudbury's Health Sciences North is involved in the campaign. She's also the community and long-term care specialist with the northeastern Ontario Stroke Network.

“People are often thinking, 'Oh, I don't feel well. Maybe I should go lie down for a bit or I'll wait for my family to come home and drive me,' but that's not the right response,” she said.

“You need to call 911 immediately. It's a medical emergency.”

Verrilli noted about 200 people are treated for strokes each year at Sudbury hospital.

And that number could be on the rise.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, stroke rates among young people between the ages of 24 and 64 will double in the next 15 years.

Getting a stroke treated sooner, rather than later, is critical.

“What people need to keep in mind is that ‘time is brain’,” Verrilli said.

“So the longer you wait to get to the hospital, the more brain cells that are being damaged — and so the harder it is to recover from that stroke.”

The foundation reports about 62,000 strokes occur in Canada each year.

That's one every nine minutes.

Verrilli added people can prevent strokes by living a healthy lifestyle and keeping their blood pressure down.

Click here to watch the Heart And Stroke Foundation's video about the signs of stroke.