More than half of Brits don’t know that stroke is the fourth biggest killer in the UK, according to new research by the Stroke Association.
The charity has released the survey findings as it calls for vital support to fund more research into the devastating condition.
In April it surveyed 2,005 members of the public and asked them to rank health conditions in order of the leading causes of death.
Fifty-one per cent of people who ranked stroke placed it below its actual position as the fourth biggest killer.
The research also revealed that almost a fifth of people (18 per cent) underestimate the impact of stroke, believing that stroke ranks lower than its actual position as the fifth leading cause of disability (and death combined) in the UK.
In fact, two thirds of people who survive a stroke find themselves living with a disability.
A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, killing brain cells.
There are 1.3 million stroke survivors living in the UK, with over 50 per cent of all stroke survivors dependent on others for everyday activities.
However, the Stroke Association’s survey also found that people don’t understand the true long term damage a stroke can cause:
- More than two-thirds (67 per cent) of people are unaware that fatigue is a common hidden effect of stroke
- More than two thirds (67 per cent) don’t realise that stroke can cause depression and anxiety
- Around a third of people (32 per cent) don’t know that communication difficulties are common after stroke
- Almost three quarters of people (74 per cent) don’t know that stroke can affect hearing
- Two thirds (66 per cent) are unaware that stroke survivors can experience vision problems
Despite the devastating impact of stroke, stroke research is chronically underfunded and receives far less funding than other health conditions that have similar life-long effects.
In the UK far less is spent per survivor on research into stroke than research into any other health condition, a press release from the Stroke Association said.
Data shows that annually, only 1.2 per cent of research budgets (about £30 million) are spent on stroke, compared with 14.8 per cent (about £400 million) on cancer, while there are 1.3 million people living with the effects of stroke in the UK and 2.5 million living with cancer.
However, the survey reveals many Brits believe more research funding is spent on stroke than other conditions including prostate cancer, dementia and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
The study also found that almost half of people (46 per cent) think that the number of deaths from stroke has increased in the last 10 years.
However, despite stroke being the UK’s fourth biggest killer, the rate of deaths has actually decreased by more than half in the last three decades thanks in part to life saving research, demonstrating the crucial need for continued investment in stroke research.
A stroke story
Glen Eastick wants people to realise that stroke can affect people who are young and fit – he was just 33 when he had his stroke in July 2020.
Glen’s symptoms started while he was preparing his lunch. “I briefly lost the use of my arm for about ten seconds and dribbled a bit but then continued making lunch,” said Glen.
“Then when I went into my next online session I realised I couldn’t talk. Nothing was coming out except the odd word. My client was saying, are you okay?
“My girlfriend Bex was out on a walk with our six-week-old baby Evie and as soon as she came back she realised something was wrong as I was struggling to talk. She called the ambulance and I was rushed into hospital.”
Ironically, the stroke specialty doctor waiting to treat Glen at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, was James Beckett who is also one of his personal fitness clients.
A scan confirmed that Glen had had a stroke and he was thrombolysed – given special drugs to dissolve the clot which was blocking the blood supply and killing cells in his brain.
Thanks to the prompt action by Bex who spotted the ‘FAST’ stroke symptoms, the skills of hospital staff and his own determination, Glen has made a good recovery.
Doctors found that his stroke was caused by a PFO ‘hole in the heart’ which allowed clots to travel between the chambers of his heart and up to his brain.
In July 2021 he had an operation to close this hole at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Now Glen is backing the Stroke Association’s call for more research into stroke.
Underfunded
Despite the devastating impact of stroke, stroke research is chronically underfunded and receives far less funding than other health conditions that have similar life-long effects
Juliet Bouverie OBE, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association, said: “Stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK and while it changes lives in an instant, the brain can adapt and rebuild after stroke.
“That’s why research means everything to our nation’s 1.3 million stroke survivors and their families, because of the life-changing impact it could have on their future.
“Our pioneering research has been at the centre of major breakthroughs that have saved lives and sparked innovation in stroke care and treatment.
“From laying the foundations for the Act FAST campaign, one of the most successful public health awareness campaigns in England, to funding early research into the emergency stroke treatment thrombectomy (the manual removal of stroke-causing blood clots), many patients have been spared the most devastating effects of stroke as a result of our research.”
She said that despite stroke still being the fourth biggest killer in the UK, research has helped to more than halve the rate of deaths from stroke over the last three decades.
“It’s absolutely crucial that we continue this progress, but we can’t do this without vital funding. Far less is spent ‘per survivor’ on research into stroke than on research into any other health condition.
“We would never want to take researchers or money away from other conditions such as cancer, but we do want to replicate the success that cancer research has had, so that we can continue to make breakthroughs in stroke treatment and care.
She said the association’s focus is on improving life, after stroke strikes. The Stroke Association is the only organisation dedicated to funding research into ongoing rehabilitation for stroke survivors.
“Our research means everything to stroke survivors and their families. It gives hope for a better recovery, living more independently, a future.
“We’re calling on people to donate where they can to support our research and help give stroke survivors and their families the progress they deserve.”
To find out more visit www.stroke.org.uk/supportresearch
