Our research achievements
Over the last ten years The Stroke Association has invested around £21 million in a wide range of crucial research into stroke prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.
We currently invest over £2 million into stroke research in the UK every year. New evidence from research funded by The Stroke Association has led to important changes in the way that stroke is treated.
Helping paramedics to identify stroke
Thanks to research that we have funded, ambulance paramedics can accurately identify a stroke using the Face Arm Speech Test (FAST) before the patient arrives at hospital.
This means that patients are taken to a hospital with the best facilities for stroke care in their area, which improves their chances of recovery. FAST requires an assessment of three specific symptoms of stroke:
Facial weakness - can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped?
Arm weakness - can the person raise both arms?
Speech problems - can the person speak clearly and understand what you say?
Test all three symptoms
Halving the risk of stroke
More people are now having surgery to remove build-ups of fatty deposits in the main artery carrying blood to the brain (carotid endarterectomy) as a result of our research evidence.
For people with severe blockages this surgery can halve the risk of stroke, and it has prevented thousands of people from having a stroke.
Clot-busting drugs increase recovery
Thanks to research, doctors know that it is safe to give clot-busting drugs to people who have had a stroke, due to a blood clot, within three hours of the stroke.
As a result this treatment (thrombolysis) is now used in many UK hospitals. Stroke survivors receiving this treatment have a significantly better recovery and quality of life after their stroke.
The image to accompany Helping paramedics to identify stroke is credited to Stockbyte Platinum/Alamy.
