This year we’ll be helping people to check for atrial fibrillation, which lots of people live with and don’t even know it.
Atrial fibrillation is when your heart beats with an irregular rhythm. When this happens, your heart won’t empty all of the blood out of its chambers with every beat. Then, if your heart chambers aren’t empty, the leftover blood can form clots which travel from your heart into the brain, blocking off blood flow and causing a stroke.
Atrial fibrillation can happen to anyone at any age, but you’re more likely to get it the older you get.
At the Stroke Association, we know that there are hundreds of thousands of people who are living with atrial fibrillation but don’t know it! This is because not everyone has obvious symptoms.
You can check yourself or your friends and family at home, with a simple pulse check.
This Stroke Prevention Day you should check yourself and check your family for signs of atrial fibrillation.
If you think you might have atrial fibrillation, contact your GP practice and they will make a decision about who you should see next.
If you have had a stroke, you should have been checked for atrial fibrillation at some point.
Because atrial fibrillation is a cause of 1 in 5 strokes, it’s really important that you spread the message and encourage your family and friends to test for atrial fibrillation too.
Make a note in your diary for Stroke Prevention Day 2023, and come back to this page and check us out on social media on Thursday 12 January 2023 for a new video that you can share to show people how to check their pulse for atrial fibrillation.
If you have already been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and have been prescribed drugs, you can find out more about managing your atrial fibrillation here.
Spread the word and encourage people to check their pulse this Stroke Prevention Day.