Stroke risk for Welsh adults could be reduced through starting one small change
Welsh adults could take steps to avoid having a stroke if more people knew the top risk factors for stroke and made one small change to their lifestyle, the UK’s leading stroke charity says.
The Stroke Association is launching a national campaign inspiring people to pledge to make one small change to reduce their risk of stroke ─ starting on Stroke Prevention day, Thursday 14 January ─ and stop stroke being the fourth biggest cause of death in the UK.
New survey results by the Stroke Association found that only one in 20 (6%) adults in Wales think they’re at high risk of stroke1. This is despite the fact that, in the UK, more than one in every five (21%) adults will have a stroke in their lifetime2.
The new research commissioned by the charity shows this may be because people don’t know what puts them at risk. Half (49%) of the country don’t know that high blood pressure is a top risk factor for stroke1. Blood pressure is one of the biggest causes for stroke and 55% of stroke patients have hypertension (high blood pressure) when they have their stroke3.
This is concerning because conservative estimates predict that as many as 1 in 6 adults have high blood pressure4, but only 9 % of people would focus on their blood pressure to reduce their stroke risk in Wales
Nine in 10 (89%) strokes are associated with modifiable risk factors5, elements of your lifestyle that can be changed to reduce your risk. According to the INTERSTROKE study, the world’s largest study of stroke causes, the modifiable risk factors that cause the most strokes in countries such as the UK are high blood pressure, high body weight and poor diet.
Worryingly, knowledge of the top risk factors for stroke was low across the board:
- Three in four people (74%) don’t know that weight is a top risk factor that can increase your risk of stroke
- Nine in ten people (89%) don’t know that your diet is a top risk factor that can increase your risk of stroke
Katie Chappelle, Associate Director for Wales at the Stroke Association says, “A stroke happens in the brain, the control centre for who we are and what we can do. Stroke is the fourth biggest cause of death in the UK, but it doesn’t need to be. For those that survive, the impact varies depending on which part of the brain is affected. It could be anything from wiping out your speech and physical abilities, to affecting your emotions and personality. Many strokes can be avoided if you take action.
“When you don’t know your risk, you there’s no motivation to reduce it. Most people know that living a smoke free life, drinking carefully and eating healthily is good for you, but it’s clear from our research that people aren’t always sure why these are important things to do. If more people understood the benefits of making healthy changes, more people would act to reduce their stroke risk.
“The biggest thing you can do reduce your risk of stroke is to start by making one small change. We want to help as many people as possible to understand the personal risk of stroke and make that first, positive step to prevent having one. It can happen to anyone, at any age and at any time, but we know that people who take steps to reduce their risk are less likely to have a stroke.”
The survey results found a lack of understanding of the risk factors that increase your risk of stroke and a shocking lack of information being accessed to help people reduce their risk. In Wales, three in four people (80%) said that they have had no information about stroke reduction recently. Nationally, this rockets to over four in five (85%) of over-65s, who are most at risk of having a stroke1.
To help people to make one small change, the Stroke Association have launched a campaign in partnership with Rotary GB&I, LoSalt and OMRON Healthcare ─ pledge to make #OneSmallChange on Stroke Prevention Day and receive guidance on how to stick to your one small change. Visit www.stroke.org.uk/
About LoSalt®:
All the taste of regular table, sea and rock salts with 66% less sodium.
The leading brand of reduced sodium salt in the UK.
Manufactured in Scotland, Klinge Foods Ltd expertly blends two natural mineral salts (potassium chloride and sodium chloride) to produce LoSalt.
Excess levels of sodium in our diet (the main source being salt) is linked to high blood pressure (hypertension), a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Not enough potassium in the diet is also a contributor to hypertension
At a population level, the potential benefits of using potassium-based sodium replacers to help reduce sodium in foods outweigh the potential risks (SACN-COT report, Nov. 2017). An increased potassium intake may reduce blood pressure, decrease risk of cardiovascular disease, have beneficial effects on bone-mineral density, and mitigate the negative consequences of high sodium consumption (World Health Organisation, Potassium intake for adults and children report, 2012).
A simple switch, LoSalt is used in exactly the same way as you would other salts – in cooking, baking or at the table.
Launched in 1983 it is sold in 30 countries worldwide .
