Ringsend Day Services join forces with the Irish Heart Foundation and Boots on Stroke awareness

8 Jul 2010

Headway Ringsend Day Service staff and clients, Boots staff, and Irish Heart Foundation staff held a FAST launch at Boots on Baggot Street on Thursday. By chatting to passers-by and Boots customers, they aimed make more people aware of the early warning signs of stroke, and of the need to dial 999 FAST.

Many thanks to Claire Duggan and her staff at Boots of Baggot St, to Sarah Horgan and Cliona McCormack (Irish Heart Foundation), and especially to Marian Gaule, Sean Young, Sheila Grant, and Sara Sabbioni, of Headway's Ringsend Day Services Centre, for their hard work in making the event a success.

To see lots more photos, click here. To find out more about the stroke awareness FAST campaign, read on.

Irish Heart Foundation's F.A.S.T. capmapign aims to help people recognise the main warning signs of stroke, and to get anyone having a stroke to hospital fast by dialling 999.

Recognise the early signs of Stroke and Dial 999

F. A. S. T. stands for:

F - Face - has the person's face fallen on one side? Can they smile?

A - Arms - Can they raise both arms and keep them there?

S - Speech - is their speech slurred?

T -Time to call 999 if you spot any single one of these signs.

F. A. S. T. can help you to rapidly recognise stroke and then act quickly to get medical treatment.

To see the TV ads, click here or visit: www.stroke.ie.

To see how you can help spread the F A S T message in your local area, click here, or contact Sarah Horgan or Cliona McCormack on (01) 668 5001 in the Advocacy Office of the Irish Heart Foundation.