North East 'unaware' of threat of strokes

Nearly 80% of people living in the North East of England do not know that strokes are one of the world’s biggest killers.

That is according to a poll by the Stroke Association for World Stroke Day, which falls on the 29th October.

Around 30,000 women die from a stroke every year and it is the third leading cause of death in women in the UK.

Just a third of people living in the region said they thought they would be most likely to have a stroke when they get older.

Elaine Roberts, Director of Life After Stroke Services at the Stroke Association, said:

The survey revealed one in eight women in the UK wrongly believes that a stroke could never happen to them.

That statistic once included Angela Barnett from South Shields.

In January this year after having just given birth to her sixth child Mason, who was delivered by caesarean, Angela woke up and went to have a cigarette, but realised it had fallen out of her right hand.

Despite being confused by what happened she went back to make a cup of tea and subsequently doesn’t remember what happened next.

Her husband Max found her with a drooped mouth and recognising the signs of stroke, called an ambulance immediately. She had a second stroke while in A&E and was unconscious for the next 24 hours.

Doctors advised the stroke was likely to have been caused by the c-section. When Angela left hospital, she could walk and talk but not properly, and she also had trouble swallowing.

Angela still has problems with her right side but can walk. She also has very limited vision in the right side of both eyes, short term memory loss and since her stroke has become epileptic:

To mark World Stroke Day, the Stroke Association is launching a new fundraising campaign aimed at raising awareness of the impact of stroke on women. [Click here for more](http://www.stroke.org.uk/womenwww.stroke.org.uk/women www.stroke.org.uk/women www.stroke.org.uk/women).