World Stroke Day, 29th October

Annual global campaigns on World Stroke Day aim to emphasize the high rates of stroke and raise awareness of prevention and treatment of the condition. The symbol for stroke and heart disease is represented by a red ribbon. World Stroke Day was established in 2004 and used to raise public awareness in 2006.

The 2023 theme is “Greater Than Stroke”. It aims to raise awareness about the condition and how to prevent it. The World Stroke Organization (WSO) website provides advice on managing modifiable lifestyle factors, such as hypertension, smoking, diet, and exercise, which are considered to be the main risk factors of stroke and cardiovascular conditions. One of the messages is about acting fast to recognize the signs of stroke, and calling emergency immediately. The lifesaving warning signs of stroke can be easily memorized by the  “F. A.S. T.” acronym, which stands for Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call emergency.

 Here is a list of EALTHY teaching resources that relate to stroke

• Describing cardiovascular conditions (B1-B2, lesson plan)
• Making lifestyle changes: quitting smoking (B2-C1, lesson plan)
• Describing strokes (B2-C1, lesson plan)
• Blood pressure and pulse (B2-C1, lesson plan)
• Heart conditions (B2-C1, vocabulary worksheet)
• Anticoagulant therapy (B2-C1, crossword)
• Anticoagulant therapy (A2-B2, reading and vocabulary worksheet)

Classroom activities and resources

1. World Stroke Day Toolkit: a set of campaign resources composed of logos, images, social media posts, information leaflets, and videos in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish (Spain)
2. Posters and images: poster generator and social media posts
3. Information brochures: brochures about hypertension, smoking, diet, alcohol, exercise in German, French, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic
4. Spot a Stroke F.A.S.T.: lesson plans, videos in English and Spanish
5. A.S.T. materials: infographics, fact sheets and videos in English and Spanish
6. A.S.T. materials: for educators and classrooms, patients, and the public
7. Games and quizzes: The F.A.S.T. Experience

Resources

World Stroke Organization: World Stroke Day  

American Stroke Association: World Stroke Day – F.A.S.T.

Pace Hospitals: World Stroke Day – Theme, History and Importance