Almost half of people in Ireland are unaware of any of the four key signs of stroke, a new poll by the Irish Heart Foundation has revealed.

According to the findings, 43% of people do not know any of the four key warning signs, a figure described as “shockingly low” by the foundation, while just 10% know them all.

It has launched a new ‘Act FAST’ campaign to highlight the warning signs of stroke, which is responsible for the hospitalisation of an estimated 7,500 people in Ireland every year.

“A high proportion of death, severe disability and misery for families caused by stroke in Ireland could be avoided just by knowing what those four letters – FAST – mean.

“Facial weakness - can the person smile and has their mouth or eye drooped? Arm weakness - can the person raise both arms? Speech problems - can the person speak clearly and understand you? Time - call for an ambulance if you spot any one of these,” explained the foundation’s head of advocacy, Chris Macey.

He noted that while treatment for stroke has improved significantly, “doctors still rely on people getting to hospital as soon as possible after experiencing symptoms to give them the best possible chance of recovery”.

However currently, 41% of patients are failing to get to hospital within the crucial 4.5 hours to receive thrombolysis treatment and the foundation warns that this figure could be underestimated.

“The average stroke destroys two million brain cells every minute – and it’s estimated that every 60 seconds saved between having a stroke to getting effective treatment, saves one week of healthy life for a patient,” Mr Macey said.

The new Act FAST campaign was launched to coincide with World Stroke Day (October 29). The foundation is also using this opportunity to call for the urgent publication of the HSE’s long overdue National Stroke Strategy, which includes provision for a fully funded rolling annual FAST campaign.