2017 Stroke Report reveals needs not being met for Canadians living with stroke EMBARGOED

The 2017 Heart & Stroke 2017 Stroke Report being released tomorrow, June 7, reveals extensive gaps in recovery support and services for Canadians who experience stroke at any age.

It is something Senator Murray Sinclair ‒ who had a minor stroke in 2007 at age 56 ‒ knows all too well.

“One thing I have learned over the years is in the Indigenous community, there is a significant lack of proper resources at the community level,” he says. “I feel lucky that when I had a stroke I was living in an urban area because if it had happened to me in some of the communities where I have traveled over the years I would have suffered significantly from the lack of appropriate medical care, particularly urgent medical treatment.”

Please let me know if you would like an embargoed media release and the embargoed report.

I would also be happy to coordinate interviews for you with our medical experts, stroke researchers, and survivors across the country – with including Senator Sinclair.

Why does this matter?

More Canadians are living with the effects of stroke and require support; more than 400 000 Canadians live with long-term disability from stroke and this will almost double in the next 20 years.

The majority of stroke patients require ongoing recovery support, but overall many of their needs are not being met. The report reveals:

• How stroke affects quality of life and family relationships.
• The effects and rates of less outwardly noticeable deficits such as aphasia, depression and post-stroke fatigue.
• While some excellent resources are available in communities, there are too few and mostly in major cities.
• There are unique challenges and circumstances for stroke survivors at different ages: babies and kids, younger adults and older adults.

All the best, JD

Jane-Diane Fraser

Manager, Corporate Communications, Canada | Administratrice, communications de l’entreprise, Canada
Heart & Stroke | Fondation des maladies du cœur et de l’AVC
T 613-691-4020 | E [email protected]

heartandstroke.ca­ | fmcoeur.ca

NT5