Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of stroke

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide and today (Thursday 29^th of October) on World Stroke Day, the World Stroke Organisation is encouraging everyone to get active and “Join the MoveMent” to reduce their risk of stroke.

Stroke can happen at any age and one third of strokes happen in people under the age of sixty-five.

Physical inactivity is one of a number of risk factors for stroke with the others being, atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, poor diet, and smoking.

Not being active on a regular basis increases the risk of stroke by 50 per cent. That is why the World Stroke Organisation is encouraging everyone to get active on World Stroke Day 2020.

Regular physical activity reduces blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke. It is recommended that adults get 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week.

While at the moment due to COVID-19 level five restrictions we are all being asked to stay at home meaning that we will have fewer opportunities to be physically active, it is still really important for our physical and mental health to keep as active as we can.

Regular exercise also improves your emotional and physical wellbeing. We have a number of resources to help you stay physically active at home that you can see here.

It is still possible to get out for regular activity within your local 5km limit or you could try moving more at home by supporting World Stroke Day’s “Join the MoveMent ” campaign.

The Irish Heart Foundation runs 21 stroke support groups around the country. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all these groups have moved to telephone and online support. For more information, see https://irishheart.ie/get-support/.

In conjunction with the HSE National Stroke Programme, we have also launched a new telephone support service for stroke patients who have recently been discharged from hospital. For more information, see here.