If you have a stroke, the blood supply to your brain is cut off. After a few minutes without oxygen and food from your blood, your brain begins to suffer damage.
Depending on the type of stroke, you can be permanently disabled – but many people recover well.
If you have high blood pressure and smoke, you’re at a much greater risk of having a stroke.
Know the signs – think FAST
If you think you or someone else is suffering a stroke, call 111 immediately.
The sooner treatment is received, the less damage a stroke will cause.
Know the signs of a stroke - think FAST:
- Face: Is it drooping on one side?
- Arm: Is one arm weak?
- Speech: Is it mixed-up, slurred or lost?
- Take Action: Call 111 immediately.
A stroke is a ‘brain attack’, a medical emergency when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. A stroke can happen to anyone at any time – it could be someone you know or the person next to you. They could be younger than you expect. Think FAST and call 111 immediately if someone has stroke symptoms.
Each year about 9,000 people in New Zealand have a stroke. It’s important to recognise when someone is having a stroke and to start medical treatment as soon as possible because fast treatment can reduce brain damage and mean better outcomes. Acting FAST can save lives, give people the best chance of recovery.
Even if you’re not sure whether it is a stroke, it’s important you call 111 immediately if you see someone with any signs of stroke. Know the signs. Think FAST.
A stroke can happen to anyone, anytime. It could be someone you know, someone next to you.
Know the signs. Think FAST.
Face: Is it drooping on one side?
Arm: Is one arm weak?
Speech: Is it jumbled, slurred or lost?
Time to call 111.
A stroke is an emergency. If you see ANY of these signs call 111 to give someone a better chance of recovery.
Know the signs of stroke. Think FAST.
The Stroke Foundation website has detailed information on:
- what is a stroke?
- life after stroke
- stories from people who’ve recovered from stroke
- resources for stroke sufferers and their families.
Mini-strokes – or TIAs
A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) – also called a ‘mini-stroke’ – has similar symptoms to a stroke. However, most people fully recover within a few minutes or an hour.
If you think you’ve had a TIA, you must see a doctor immediately. A TIA may be a warning that a stroke will follow.
You can read more about TIAs on the Stroke Foundation website:
Stroke FAST promo videos
English version
Video title: Know the signs of stroke – think FAST (English)
A stroke is a brain attack.
If you see any sign, think and act FAST.
F - Face.
Is their face drooping on one side?
A - Arm.
Is one arm weak?
S - Speech.
Is it mixed up, slurred or lost?
T - Take action.
Time is critical.
Call 1 1 1 immediately and give someone the best chance of recovery.
Remember at any sign of stroke call 1 1 1 immediately.
Māori version
Video title: Know the signs of stroke – think FAST (Māori)
Ko te roro ikura he mate kua pā ki te roro.
Ina kite koe i tētahi tohu, kia tere, kia tika te mahi.
Face - Kua tītaha rānei tētahi taha o tōna kanohi?
Arm - Kua ngoikore tētahi ringa?
Speech - Kua parure, kua ngaro rānei tōna reo?
Take action - He poto te wā.
Waea tonu atu ki 111 Kia pai ai te whakaoranga o te tangata.
Video: A stroke can happen anytime
Stroke expert Dr Anna Ranta talks about the importance of the FAST campaign message - and the real difference it can make.
[Title: A stroke can happen at any time]
[Slide: The Ministry of Health went to Wellington Regional Hospital recently.
We were asking stroke export Dr Anna Ranta about the FAST awareness campaign.]
[Dr Anna Ranta sitting in her office at Wellington Regional Hospital]
My name is Anna Ranta. Im a stroke neurologist at Capital and Coast DHB, I'm also the National Clinic Leader for stroke for the Ministry of Health.
FAST stands for face, arm, speech and time.
[Animation showing examples of FAST - face, arm, speech and time]
Face, because with a stroke you can have a facial droop, you can have arm weakness in one side or the other and you can have talking problems with your speech. T stands for time to signal that if you have any of those symptoms or if you see somebody have some of those symptoms they need to call 111 straight away to get to the hospital.
[Dr Anna Ranta sitting in her office at Wellington Regional Hospital]
The time is important because we only have a number of hours to intervene when somebody has a stroke and the reason for that...
[Slide: As our interview is finishing Anna receives an alert.]
I just noticed some reminder went off.
Do you need to attend to something?
[Slide: A stroke patient is on their way]
We've just had a FAST track done in ED, if I came through the back door?
[Shot of Dr Anna on the phone]
The ambulance is able to call ahead, so they'll notify us before the person has even arrived in the hospital and we can kick into gear and be ready and meet the person at the front desk.
[Shots of Dr Anna walking down to the Emergency Department]
And there are two general types of strokes. Either a ruptured blood vessel that causes blood flow into the brain or the blood clot that blocks blood flow to the brain. When the blood flow is interrupted to the brain, you don't get oxygen to the brain and the brain needs oxygen to function.
We really want people to get to us as soon as possible, ideally immediately, but we need to treat them within about 4 and half hours otherwise we've run out of time.
[Dr Anna Ranta to camera in the Emergency Department]
Ok, so we just got called for a FAST track stroke and the patient is due to arrive really now. We expect the ambulance to bring the patient in any second now.
[Shot of bed in Emergency Department]
The patient will be transferred to this bed and we will be monitoring the patient to see what their blood pressure is, address that and then very quickly move over to the CT scanner to take things from there.
[Shot of Dr Anna looking at a CT scan on the computer]
We're going to have to move out.
[Dr Anna Ranta sitting in her office]
The brain can survive for a few hours without the oxygen to that part of the brain, but once several hours go by it's just too late and so we cannot reverse the symptoms after that point.
[Shot of CT scan on the computer]
Also we know that every 15 minutes that we save actually makes a substantial difference as regards to the likelihood that people will be discharged back to their own home and independent of daily carers.
[Slide: The patient was successfully treated with clot busting medication
They went home 24 hours later.]
[Dr Anna Ranta sitting in her office]
All of these treatments we have in hospital are fantastic and it's great to see that we are increasing implementation, but of course the best way to prevent a stroke is to prevent it in the first place. And I would like people to exercise and to eat a healthy diet and to not smoke. And those are the most important things that everyone in New Zealand can do to, put us out of a job.
