The number of people under the age of 65 who have suffered a stroke in Ireland has jumped by 26% in the last seven years, a conference has been told.

According to statistics from the National Stroke Audit, this is the equivalent of at least 300 extra strokes among people of working age every year.

The figures were presented at the Irish Heart Foundation's (IHF) National Stroke Conference in Dublin.

They revealed that while more women die as a result of stroke across all age groups, in the younger age categories, men account for three-quarters of all strokes.

The statistics also showed that 40% of younger people who suffer a stroke are smokers, and many have already been diagnosed with high blood pressure.

The conference was told that similar findings in the UK have largely been blamed on people leading increasingly sedentary and unhealthy lifestyles.

"While the reasons behind this increase have not yet been fully established and may be complex, it is clear that preventable risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure are significant contributors.

"This raises the distinct possibility that while people in older age groups are acting on advice and information campaigns to minimise their risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease generally, middle aged men are not, perhaps because they do not understand their level of risk," commented Dr Paul McElwaine, of the HSE National Stroke programme, which led the audit research.

Meanwhile according to Chris Macey of the IHF, these findings show that stroke should no longer be thought of as an old person's disease, as people of working age now account for one in four cases.

"It appears that middle-aged men in particular are not heeding the health messages around prevention of stroke and we must remedy this starting with prevention awareness campaigns specifically targeted at them," he insisted.

The conference was also told that as more people are surviving stroke and returning to their homes, there is an urgent need to develop community health and social care services for younger people who may have to live with stroke-related disabilities for decades.

This includes helping working age people return to work after a stroke. Previous research carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the IHF found that just 32% of those who returned to work after suffering a stroke, were working full-time one year later.

"Having a stroke is a devastating experience, the impact of which could be significantly reduced by the development of better community health, social care and vocational services that can provide enormous help on the road to recovery, while also benefiting society as a whole both socially and economically," Mr Macey noted.

The conference was told that there has been a big increase in milder strokes affecting younger people. However, one service improvement for such patients would be to extend the Early Support Discharge (ESD) programme, which enables patients to be discharged quicker from hospital after a stroke and receive intensive therapy services at home.

This programme has been shown to improve outcomes and reduce overall health costs, yet just one in 10 stroke survivors in Ireland was able to avail of ESD compared to 30% in the UK.

Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute estimates that over half of all stroke survivors could benefit from ESD - that is over 3,000 people per year. This could lead to a major improvement in patients' quality of life and a saving of 24,000 bed days per year in Irish hospitals.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, depriving it of oxygen. As a result, some of the brain cells die and others are damaged. Every year in Ireland, some 10,000 people suffer a stroke and 2,000 die as a result. Thousands more are left with stroke-related disabilities. For more information on stroke, click here