Macedon Ranges council and Village Connect held its latest talk on preventing strokes, with regional Australians 17 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke than their metropolitan counterparts.
The talk was held at the Gisborne Community Centre on May 17, with a StrokeFoundation speaker talking about how to recognise stroke signs, what to do if one occurs, and how to prevent them.
StrokeFoundation’s interim executive director of stroke services and research Kelvin Hill said the increased chance that regional Australians will suffer a stroke is due to individual risk factors.
“It is shocking,” Mr Hill said, “[it’s because] individual risk factors are slightly higher in regional and rural areas.”
“It ranges from population to population but some of the lifestyle factors, [such as] higher rates of smoking… in rural areas [contribute].”
The talk also addressed the fact that more than 80 per cent of strokes can be prevented, which Mr Hill said is modeled on behavior people can change.
“The things that we can change include; diet, exercise levels, smoking, blood pressure, [and] cholesterol,” he said.
“What we can’t change is things like our age, sex and family history.
“It doesn’t mean we can totally eliminate [the risk], but they are the things we can modify… 80 per cent is the things we can modify.”
Mr Hill said while people’s awareness of strokes is increasing, more education around them is needed and anyone can call the StrokeFoundation on 1800 787 653 to speak with a health professional.
This talk was held through the council’s Village Connect program to deliver activities and information sessions for those aged 55 years and older living in the shire.
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Zoe Moffatt
