May is Stroke Awareness Month, something which is of relevance to the Irish in Britain due to the above average, and sometimes increasing, mortality among Irish men and women from coronary heart disease, hypertension and stroke.
In general, the largest number of people who have strokes are aged over 55 and the risk increases as you get older. Certain medical conditions can also increase your risk of stroke. These include high blood pressure, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and high cholesterol.
With high blood pressure (Hypertension) being cited as the biggest single contributing risk factor for global death, monitoring and maintaining a healthy blood pressure level could potentially save millions of lives globally.
Blood Pressure Screening
To help keep Irish hearts healthy and to show our support for Action on Stroke month, Green Hearts are collaborating with May Measurement Month (MMM) to run a national blood pressure screening campaign.
The campaign was officially launched with MEP Alex Mayer in the Luton Irish Forum on April
13th and our first screening took place during the Martin Sullivan 7
aside tournament tournament in Hendon the same weekend.
The rest of May will see Green Hearts’ blood pressure screenings take place in our participating member organisations, various Irish Businesses and GAA clubs.
Green Hearts Health Guide
As well as measuring blood pressure, we’ll be distributing our Green Hearts health guide, it’s also available to download for free on the Irish in Britain website. The guide contains useful tips and information about keeping your heart healthy and a 30–day habit tracker to help monitor your progress.
Finding help after a stroke
With the right help and support your stroke doesn’t have to stop you from doing the things you want to do. Stroke.org has a host of information to help get you back on track including information on coping at work, grant payments and stroke support line details. You can also like the Green Hearts Facebook page to learn more about how to keep your heart healthy.