By Sheldon Spackman

June Is Stroke Month

Heart and Stroke Foundation stresses importance of identifying signs of stroke

Jun 8, 2022 | 3:22 PM

June is Stroke Month, and officials with the Heart & Stroke Foundation say stroke prevention, treatment and recovery has completely transformed over the past several decades due to research breakthroughs, increased awareness and improvements to systems of care.

However, the need for stroke treatment and services is also increasing, say officials, and more needs to be done to increase recognition of the signs of stroke.

“FAST is the acronym that we use to identify signs of stroke,” explains Samantha Berscht, Director of Health Policy and Systems with the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

F – Face. Is the face drooping?

A – Arms. Can both arms be raised in the air?

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S – Speech. Is their speech slurred? Are they making any sense?

T – Time. If you recognize the symptoms of face, arms, and speech, call 911 right away.

“When we’re talking about stroke, the timing can mean the difference between life and death or the difference between a full recovery and a lasting disability,” adds Berscht. “So it’s very important to call 911, get that process started, get the whole system in place, and don’t hesitate.”

Berscht says world class stroke research is taking place right here in Alberta, noting that many research breakthroughs have taken place over the last 30-40 years.

“A lot of the treatments that have been developed have really revolutionized care,” says Berscht. “We’ve got excellent clot busting drugs that are being improved all the time. We’ve got endovascular therapies that they’re really working on pioneering right here in Alberta.”

“We’ve also got a great tele-stroke program that started about 15 years ago,” she continues. “It uses video technologies to connect smaller communities with stroke experts in larger centres so that everybody has access to that expertise and physicians can connect in real time to diagnose and assist with stroke treatment, regardless of where they might be in the province. That’s actually expanded over the years, and now includes things like prevention, rehabilitation and recovery, in addition to the diagnosis and treatment of acute stroke.”

Berscht says June is also a fundraising month for the Heart & Stroke Foundation, so she encourages Albertans to consider donating to the organization and its events this month.

“Whether you give $10 at the door, whether you give $1000 online, all of those things add up and we appreciate each and every single donation, and that is what has led us to the breakthroughs that we’ve had in research, being able to fund world class research right here in Alberta,” explains Berscht. “Getting people timely treatment, getting people those treatments when they come in and have them quickly assessed and scanned and ideally back home and out the door and walking and back to their normal lives. So it’s all the donations that make all the work possible.”

For more information on stroke treatment, research, resources and other supports, visit heartandstroke.ca.