Stroke ad helps Clonard teen save her gran’s life

Stroke-related hospital admissions increased by a staggering 87 per cent following the launch of the Irish Heart Foundation's 'Act FAST' campaign to raise awareness of Ireland's third biggest killer disease. And thanks to the TV ad, brave 16-year-old Daire Kavanagh from Clonard knew to call 999 immediately when her grandmother, Vera Connolly, collapsed with stroke early last December. A traumatic experience at any age, young Daire overcame her initial fear on finding her grandmother suffering a stroke. The courageous teen said: “I went into my granny's room and found her in bed. I realised that the right side of her face had dropped and that she was trying to tell me something but I couldn't understand it. I then remembered the advertisement I saw on TV about how to notice the signs of a stroke – FAST.†On finding her grandmother, Daire ran for help to neighbours and immediately called 999 for assistance. The ambulance arrived within 10 minutes and paramedics confirmed that her grandmother was, indeed, having a stroke. Daire said: “After seeing what happened to Granny, I do not think that I would have had any idea what was happening to her if that FAST advertisement wasn't on TV. It is such an easy thing to remember, because it means face, arms, speech and time. But because I had seen the advert, I knew exactly what was happening. I feel that everyone should know what the signs of a stroke are because it could happen to anyone at anytime and it could save someone's life.†Research carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) also showed that 59 per cent more stroke victims got to hospital in time to receive potentially life-saving thrombolysis treatment during the first phase of the campaign in 2010. The results of the study, which was conducted in Beaumont Hospital and Connolly Hospital, were announced at the launch of the second phase of the campaign in Dublin, attended by patients who survived their stroke because of the swift treatment they received after seeing Act FAST advertisements. “These results are extraordinary and show the significant impact the FAST message is having in saving the lives of stroke victims and sparing many more from disabilities so severe that they would spend the rest of their lives in institutionalised care,†said Irish Heart Foundation head of advocacy, Chris Macey. “Ten thousand people will have a stroke in Ireland this year. These statistics demonstrate the profound influence patients can have on their own outcome or that of a loved one after stroke just by knowing the warning signs and the necessity to call an ambulance immediately following an attack,†he said. In addition to TV and radio advertisements, along with poster and leaflet campaigns across the hospital network, chemists and GPs surgeries nationwide, the Irish Heart Foundation supported local awareness raising efforts in 60 towns and cities following the Act FAST launch last May. However, despite the encouraging start to the four-year campaign, Mr Macey said the large spikes in awareness were so far not being maintained in the aftermath of the various activities, particularly TV advertising. “Awareness levels are dropping at the end of each wave of advertising, which underlines the need for more State support to ensure the message becomes more ingrained in the public consciousness. There is a lot of practical non-financial assistance they could give to help us develop long-lasting awareness, such as putting FAST training on to the school curriculum, putting FAST messages on ambulances and, where appropriate, in high footfall areas of State-owned buildings and properties.â€