Stroke can affect men and women of all ages, despite the common misconception that it only tends to affect older people, a charity has said.
There needs to be greater awareness of stroke and its risk factors, according to the Stroke Association, as many people do not realise how prevalent it is.
High blood pressure is "the single biggest factor of stroke", according to a spokeswoman for the charity, yet many people do not even know their blood pressure.
"Obviously people don't realise they have high blood pressure unless they get it measured, so it's vitally important that people do, and get it measured regularly," she said.
There are steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of stroke, including exercising regularly, stopping smoking and watching what you eat.
However, one of the main causes of stroke-related deaths is binge-drinking, the spokeswoman revealed.
"Male drinkers who have more than 35 units of alcohol a week have double the risk of mortality from stroke than non-drinkers," she said, adding: "Regularly drinking more than three units a day increases the risk of a haemorrhagic stroke."
Stroke can affect men and women of all ages, despite the common misconception that it only tends to affect older people, a charity has said.
