UK stroke victims could soar to over 400-a-day unless Labour step up

A mother-of-three told the Express how she lay down for a summer afternoon nap – and woke up paralysed and terrified. It comes as the Stroke Association, for Stroke Prevention Day on 29th January, warns the number of annual UK victims could soar from around 100,000 to 150,000 unless more is done to highlight long-term health risks like high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and vaping.

In July 2024, Andrea Berry, 57, of Cardiff, South Wales, felt tired so popped upstairs for an afternoon snooze only to wake unable to move the right side of her body. Using her left foot to bang on the floor, her son ran upstairs and rang for an ambulance but when operators warned it could take four hours her family wrapped her in a duvet, carried to their car and drove her to A&E.

After a clot-busting drug, weeks in hospital and months of physio Andrea can now walk again. But despite losing the use of her dominant right hand she’s giving back by volunteering to help other stroke victims. 

Currently, 280 Britons have a stroke every day, one every five minutes – but the Stroke Association fear that could rise to 414 people, one every three and a half minutes, by 2035 unless more is done to prevent it. 

In 2023 we launched our ‘Let Stroke Patients Thrive’ campaign, for better aftercare and access to miracle procedure thrombectomy – speedily removing the clot so some patients can return home that same day. 

Now married grandmother Andrea has told us: “I’d been complaining of pain in the left side of my neck, shoulder and arm for about a month. 

“It started to feel worse. My blood pressure was high, but I was told it might just be because I was rushing to appointments. 

“When my alarm went off at three, I felt strange. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t move my right side. My voice sounded funny. I didn’t understand what was happening.” 

Unable to shout, Andrea used her left foot to bang the floor. Her son heard the noise and came running: “He took one look at me, remembered the FAST stroke adverts and rang an ambulance straight away.” 

But when the operator told him it could take four hours, panic set in: “He called his dad, my ex-husband, and they were trying to figure out how to get me downstairs. 

“It was like something from a comedy sketch but they ended up wrapping me in a duvet cover and bumping me down the stairs.” 

When they reached A&E Andrea was fading fast: “I remember seeing the ceiling and hearing people say, ‘She’s having a classic stroke.’ 

“They told me about the clot-busting drug thrombolysis and asked if I agreed. I was terrified but I said yes. They told me I had just half an hour left in the treatment window. I was lucky. So, so lucky.” 

Andrea’s stroke left her paralysed down her right side. She said: “I thought my life was over. You just expect your hand and foot to start working again like magic but they don’t. You have to fight for every little movement.” 

She spent four-and-a-half weeks in hospital, working with physiotherapists and occupational therapists, learning to sit, stand, and take her first shaky steps. 

When home she was supported by Brian Williams from the NHS Wales local hospital-linked Early Discharge Service, who got her walking again.

She also found comfort through the Stroke Association’s local support group which got her “out of the house and reminded me I wasn’t alone.”

She explained: “We have a coffee and chat first, then some light exercise, a memory quiz, and a little walk. It keeps our minds and bodies going. I love seeing how far others have come. It gives me hope. It’s such a positive place.”

Although losing the use of her dominant right hand, she’s learned to adapt: “I can’t use my big Hoover anymore, so I got a little one. It’s those small things that make me feel independent again.”

Her next big goal is to drive again: “Before my stroke, I drove an automatic car. Now I’m learning to use left-hand controls. I’ve got my first lesson soon, I can’t wait.”

Now, Andrea is giving back as a Stroke Association Connect volunteer, helping others who are newly navigating life after stroke: “At first, it’s overwhelming, you don’t know where to turn. 

“I try to share what I’ve learned, even simple things like hint cards and where to find help. Those little things make a big difference.”

The Stroke Association is encouraging the public to help protect themselves against stroke by monitoring their blood pressure regularly and taking steps to keep it at a healthy level.

This includes eating a healthy diet, not smoking or vaping, getting regular exercise, and not drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Blood pressure checks can be carried out by a GP, at a pharmacy, or at home with BP monitor kits costing around £20.

On Stroke Prevention Day this Thursday, the Stroke Association wants the Government to take further steps to prioritise prevention of both first and recurrent strokes.

This is in addition to delivering the preventative measures outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan including new alcohol labelling, reduced junk food advertising, expanding the ‘sugar tax’ on soft drinks, improved access to weight loss medication, prohibiting sales of cigarettes to young people, and increasing taxes on vaping.

The charity is urging more people to attend the NHS health checks for people over 40 in England and Wales, as currently around two-thirds of those invited don’t attend – and the Government to educate more on stroke risk factors.

As two thirds of stroke survivors are also left with life-changing disability, ongoing rehabilitation must focus on their individual requirements.

Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO of the Stroke Association, said: “As the nation’s health declines, the risk of stroke rises.

“The risk factors of stroke are silent killers as there’s a real lack of awareness about how smoking, poor diet, drinking a lot of alcohol, and not getting regular exercise causes high blood pressure and therefore stores problems for later life.

“Already one in four people who have a stroke are of working age. Without preventative action, alongside improvements to stroke treatment, care and recovery, this will only get worse.

“The Government has set itself a target to reduce cardiovascular and stroke deaths by 25% over the next decade and we must also reduce the avoidable disability which many stroke survivors are left with.

“This is possible when there’s a real focus on preventing both primary and secondary strokes. NHS health checks are a perfect point of contact for this – and are a cost-effective option when public budgets are so thinly stretched.

“With affirmative action, we can stop the number of people having strokes from spiralling even further out of control.”

 * To find out more visit www.stroke.org.uk