Stroke Prevention Day 2024 is on Thursday 25 January

Stroke Prevention Day 2024 is on Thursday 25 January. The Stroke Association is urging people to check for atrial fibrillation – or AF – which is one of the “hidden” causes of stroke.

Atrial fibrillation is when your heart beats with an irregular rhythm. When this happens, your heart won’t empty all of the blood out of its chambers with every beat. Then, if your heart chambers don’t empty, the leftover blood can form clots which travel from your heart into the brain, blocking off blood flow and causing a stroke.

At the Stroke Association, we know that there are hundreds of thousands of people who are living with atrial fibrillation but don’t know it! This is because not everyone has obvious symptoms.

You can check yourself or your friends and family at home, with a simple pulse check. Visit our website to watch a video which shows you how to do the 60-second check which could save your life www.stroke.org.uk/spd24.