Lunch, speaker Richard Phillips

STROKE AWARENESS TALK TO ROTARY

Richard Phillips suffered a major stroke in 2001 and moved to Henley in 2002. Since then he has joined the Henley Stroke Club and has become a volunteer stroke ambassador for the Stroke Association, attached to the association’s regional office in Oxford.

On Tuesday, Mr Phillips came to talk to Henley Rotary Club’s lunch meeting at the Red Lion Hotel and gave a stroke awareness presentation. He covered the impact of a stroke, what is a stroke, what can be done to reduce risk, the Stroke Association and how people can help.

He explained that a stroke can be either a blockage or a bleed to the brain and stressed the FACT procedure if a stroke is suspected:- Facial weakness; Arm weakness; Speech problems; and Time to call 999 if any of these signs are present.

A transient ischaemic attach (known as a TIA or a mini-stroke) was often the fore-runner of a major stoke and should never be ignored, even if the symptoms have disappeared.

There are 150,000 strokes a year in the U.K., he said, and detailed the various situations which increase risk, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat), diabetes, lifestyle factors such as drinking alcohol, taking drugs and smoking.

After several members had contributed to the discussion, both with their own experiences and those of their relatives and friends, Sam Lamden proposed the vote of thanks.

Earlier, it had been reported that a party of 12 members and partners had attended the Rotary District 1090 conference at Bournemouth last weekend, where the club had been awarded the trophy for the best proportional attendance of membership (assisted by the fact that the club now has only 17 members).