WHEN someone suffers a stroke, their entire life, and the lives of their loved ones, can be turned upside down.

Stroke occurs approximately 152,000 times a year in the UK; that makes one every three minutes and 27 seconds.

Described as a brain attack, it happens when the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off.

Despite some common misconceptions, a stroke can happen to anyone at any time in their lives, leaving the victim physically and emotionally affected for the rest of their lives.

More than 42,000 people in the North West are living with the devastating effects the attack can have.

As resources for healthcare in our region become increasingly stretched, a concerted effort is being made to unite victims and families to strengthen the support available for stroke survivors.

The Stroke Association is calling on stroke survivors, their carers and stroke professional across the North West to take part in a national survey and tell us about their experiences of stroke.

For Westhoughton stroke survivor and member of the Best West Stroke Group, run by the Stroke Association, Ann Prideaux knows how important it is to share your experience with other people.

"I joined the stroke group in 2010," she explained.

"We have all become friends and have a laugh. Some days there are 10 of us, others 40.

"The group are all there to help each other. We do exercises and have professionals coming in with advice.

"At the end of the day a stroke is not the end of the world, you can do things again. Some days you feel down, but just as quickly as you feel down, you shout at yourself and go do something to else."

A grandmother to four, 70-year-old Ann, a former machinist, was just 12 months into her retirement when the stroke hit.

It happened while she was resting in bed in the early hours of January 21, 2009.

She said: "I'm afraid it came out or nowhere. When it happened it was a big shock.

"I was in hospital for a month. I was paralysed down one side and I have a dropped foot.

"I was a sports fanatic, I used to play netball and swim. Your life gets completely changes what you can do. I lost the ability to walk and had to be taught everything again. I do up to six exercises every morning, I've done that for six years.

"Even now I can't comb my hair because my arm won't go up that far.

"I am not miserable though, you just have to keep going."

The Bolton Branch of the Stroke Association, based at Great Lever Health Centre, has been going for more than 15 years.

The centre offers advice and support for stroke victims and their loved one, seeing around 500 to 550 families per year.

People are referred through the service from their GP and hospital, and it is often the next port of call for victims coming out of hospital for the first time after a stroke.

Advice and support co-ordinator in Bolton, Pamela Bann, said the age of people who have succumb to strokes is far more varied than imagined.

"People are getting younger and younger," she said.

"It is not just the older person, the problem is it can be any person for any reason.

"Heart disease, diabetes, lifestyle all play a part. There are now a lot of alcohol alcohol and drug related strokes.

"Of those who suffer a stroke a third pass away, a third are disabled and a third make a reasonable recovery. the thing to remember is that life after a stroke is a lot, lot better than it was years ago.

"It can be hard but there is a lot of support out there."

Two stroke groups meet regularly in Bolton. They are the Bolton West Stroke Group which meets the first and third Thursday each month between 1 and 3pm at the Horwich Resource Centre in Beaumont Road; and JIGSAW which meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at Christ Church in Mytham Road, Little Lever.

Anyone who has had a stroke or cares for someone who has had a stroke, are being invited to share their stories with the Stroke Association.

The closing date the survey is 31 March 2016. It can be completed online at

www.stroke.org.uk/campaigns or you can contact the Stroke Association on 020 7566 1535 to obtain a paper copy.

SIDEBAR:

Stroke information:

The FAST test has been well campaigned to the public on billboards and television advertisement to help people recognise some of the most common symptoms of a stroke:

FACIAL WEAKNESS: Can the person smile? Has their face fallen on one side?

ARM WEAKNESS: Can the person raise both arms and keep them there?

SPEECH PROBLEMS: Can the person speak clearly and understand what you say? Is their speech slurred?

TIME TO CALL 999.

There are different types of strokes. An ischaemic stroke is caused by a blockage cutting off the blood supply to the brain; ahaemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding in or around the brain; and a transient ischaemic attack or TIA - also known as a mini-stroke - It is the same as a stroke, except that the symptoms last for a short amount of time.

Effects of a stroke include:

Physical disabilities

Cognative problems, including communication, spatial awareness, memory and concentration problems

Vision problems, losing the field of vision or affect the control of the movement of the eye muscles causing double vision

Bladder and bowel control