Not enough Canadians recognize common signs of stroke: Heart and Stroke Foundation

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is celebrating 10 years of raising awareness across the country through its FAST campaign, though the foundation says more needs to be done.

The foundation launched the campaign in 2014 as a simple way to help Canadians recognize and remember the most common signs of stroke and know to take action right away.

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Since then, Heart and Stroke has been polling people’s recall of the FAST signs of stroke.

A news release from the foundation Tuesday says the results show that while progress has been made, there are still not enough Canadians who recognize the signs of stroke.

The campaign's name stands for the common signs to watch for when it comes to strokes, which include:

• Face – Is it drooping?
• Arms – Can you raise both?
• Speech – Is it slurred or jumbled?
• Time to call 911 right away.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation says "almost one million people in Canada are living with stroke" and more than 108,000 strokes happen in Canada each year – which is roughly one stroke every five minutes.

Since launching the FAST campaign, the foundation's data says the number of Canadians who can name at least two FAST signs of stroke has doubled from two in 10 to more than four in 10.

However, three in 10 Canadians cannot name any of the signs, according to the foundation's results.

The data also found that FAST awareness levels differ depending on gender, age, place of birth and race or ethnicity.

According to the Heat and Stroke Foundation:

• Women are more aware of the FAST signs of stroke than men.
• Older Canadians are more familiar with the signs of stroke and more likely to take action.
• Newcomers are significantly less aware of the FAST signs of stroke and less likely to call 9-1-1 right away, compared with those born in Canada.
• Many ethnically diverse communities are less likely to be familiar with the FAST signs of stroke.

"Since launching the FAST signs of stroke campaign awareness has increased significantly," says Dr. Patrice Lindsay, lead and stroke best practises strategy with Heart and Stroke.

"Working with governments and corporate, community, and health partners and with the support of our donors we have amplified the messages across the country. But these messages need to be regularly repeated and targeted strategies are required to ensure they reach everyone."

Keith O'Neill, 56, from Charlottetown, P.E.I., knows the stroke signs all too well after having his own terrifying experience two years ago.

"It was March 15. I was leaving work and I noticed that my vision started to go blurry... so I knew some of the symptoms, I was aware of that," said O'Neill.

"I called my wife and explained to her that, 'I think I'm having a stroke. Can you call 911 and have an ambulance sent to my parking lot at work?' And she did and while I was on the phone with her I said, 'Look, someone's walking behind me. I can ask them to assist me.' And they came and they provided me some support until the ambulance came."

O'Neill says he was flown to Halifax to have a clot retrieval surgery.

"I can't say enough good things about the quality of care I received from the health-care providers. All of them," he said.

O'Neill refers to his recovery as a "journey," adding he's had good support around him and his rehab team has been "phenomenal."

"I think I've been really fortunate because my functionality has been quite good. I mean, the major thing is I've lost vision in my right eye. But other than that, I've regained a lot of my functionality.

"I know that I'm not 100 per cent the exact same as I used to be but I'm not too far off so I'll take it... I'm very fortunate."