Poll reveals that half of Canadians are directly touched by stroke

Recovery can continue for years, with survivor family and friends playing essential role

More Canadians are surviving strokes due to advances in awareness and medical services but a new report by the Heart and Stroke Foundation reveals that more than one-third of Canadians mistakenly believe that the recovery period is limited to a few months.

Stroke recovery is a journey that can continue for years or a lifetime, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation 2013 Stroke Report, which outlines the importance of family caregivers in the process. A poll carried out for the report reveals that half of Canadians are directly touched by stroke and even more striking, that one in five Canadians have been involved in the support and care of a stroke survivor.

"Our poll confirmed what we have long suspected - that stroke touches the lives of many Canadians, and family members and friends play an important role in the recovery journey," says Ian Joiner, Director, Stroke, Heart and Stroke Foundation. "Obviously the best story is when a stroke is prevented, but we need to pay more attention to every aspect of stroke - prevention, recognition, treatment, and rehabilitation and recovery."

315,000 Canadians are currently living with the effects of stroke and this will increase

Fifty thousand strokes occur in Canada each year and 315,000 Canadians are living with the effects of stroke. As the population continues to age this number will increase - as will the number of Canadians caring for loved ones post-stroke. Now, 60 per cent of people who have a stroke report that they need help afterwards and 80 per cent have restrictions to their daily activities.

The economic cost is also high; stroke costs the Canadian economy $3.6 billion a year in physician services, hospital costs, lost wages, and decreased productivity.

"Combine these factors and a complete story of stroke emerges," says Joiner, adding that advances in awareness and treatment mean deaths from stroke are actually declining. "More Canadians will be living with the effects of stroke. Recovery can continue for years, and many Canadians find themselves supporting stroke survivors through that recovery journey. The urgency and need for action is clear."

Rehabilitation and caregiver support are essential in the stroke recovery journey

Rehabilitation is a key part of the stroke recovery journey and rehabilitation research and enhancements to services and access will be more important than ever.

"We need rehabilitation research to better understand the difficulties someone is having after a stroke and then develop the treatments to help them get better," says Dr. Sean Dukelow, a physiatrist at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute Faculty of Medicine, an assistant professor at the University of Calgary and a Heart and Stroke Foundation-funded researcher who uses robotics to help stroke survivors recover. "We use a robotic model - a large robotic chair - that helps measure a patient's improvement over time and helps deliver therapy. It can require tens of thousands of repetitions of a particular movement to relearn how to do it after stroke and the robot can help us determine the type and intensity of the rehabilitation needed for a patient to relearn how to use his arm. We can use this information and turn that into a plan to treat the patient more effectively."

The role that relatives or close friends of stroke survivors carry out is essential to the recovery journey. They help survivors relearn routine activities, regain abilities, cope with challenges and frustrations and do things the survivors cannot do for themselves. They also become navigators of the healthcare system and advocates for services and follow-up.

"After my stroke, my mom was my rock," says Janel Nadeau, a stroke survivor who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke at 19 and has gone on to become a doctor. "She was my advocate. She was my communicator. I knew that I did not have to worry about what was going on outside of my little bubble, because my mom would take care of it so I could focus simply on recovering."

Other results from the Heart and Stroke Foundation poll reveal that not all Canadians have a clear picture of how strokes can be prevented.  According to the poll, less than two-thirds of Canadians are aware that most strokes can be prevented and nearly one in six believe that once a person has recovered from a stroke there is nothing they can do to prevent another one. And the fact is that up to 80 per cent of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented.

Canadians are optimistic about the outlook for stroke survivors and the possibilities of life after stroke. In the Heart and Stroke Foundation poll, more than four in five respondents said they believe that people who survive a stroke can be treated, recover and live meaningful lives.

Advances mean hope

The story of stroke is not over. Stroke is preventable. Stroke is treatable. And recovery from stroke is possible. For stroke survivors and their loved ones, continued advances in rehabilitation and recovery mean real hope for a better future. There is life after stroke.

For the full report, videos of researchers and survivors, resources for stroke survivors and caregivers, and calls to action for Canadians, government and healthcare professionals visit heartandstroke.ca/strokereport2013.

Heart and Stroke Foundation poll

According to a new poll by the Heart and Stroke Foundation:

• One in two Canadians report having a close friend or family member who is a stroke survivor.
• One in five Canadians report being directly involved in the support and care of a stroke survivor.
• Fewer than two in three Canadians believe that most strokes can be prevented.
• Nearly one in five believe that most strokes are fatal.
• More than four in five believe that people who survive a stroke can be treated, recover and live meaningful lives.
• Nearly one in six Canadians believe that once a person has recovered from a stroke there is nothing they can do to prevent another one.
• One in three Canadians believe that once a person survives a stroke there is an initial period of a few months of recovery.  After than they are unlikely to recover any further.

The vital stats on stroke

• There are an estimated 50,000 strokes in Canada each year.  That is one stroke every 10 minutes.
• About 315,000 Canadians are living with the effects of stroke.
• Every seven minutes in Canada, someone dies from heart disease or stroke.
• Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Canada. Six per cent of all deaths in Canada are due to stroke.
• Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability among adults.