World Stroke Day is observed on October 29 to underscore the serious nature and high rates of stroke, raise awareness of the prevention and treatment of the condition, and ensure better care and support for survivors.
On this day, organizations around the world have facilitated events emphasizing education, testing, and initiatives to improve the damaging effects of stroke worldwide.
The annual event was started in 2006 by the World Stroke Organization(WSO)and the WSO declared stroke a public health emergency in 2010.
The WSO now has an ongoing campaign that serves as a year-round interface for advocacy, policy, and outreach to support strides and continue progress made on World Stroke Day.
History
Stroke has been and continues to be a widespread disease worldwide,it is currently the single largest cause of disability and the second largest cause of death globally.
In 2016 alone, stroke was responsible for 116m days of life lost to death and disability.
The individual lifetime risk of stroke is currently 1 in 4. and 5.5 million people will and
The idea to create a day of awareness began in the 1990s with the European Stroke Initiative. Due to financial limitations, however, the effort was limited only to Europe.
The European Stroke Organization continued the project, and celebrates its awareness day on May 10.
WSO World Stroke Day on October 29th was established in 2004 at the World Stroke Congress in Vancouver, Canada.
Under the direction of Dr. Vladimir Hachinski, a working group was formed, which was incorporated into a World Stroke Proclamation in October 2006.
Around the same time, the International Stroke Society and the World Stroke Federation merged to form the World Stroke Organization, which took over the management of World Stroke Day.
In 2009, WSO leadership moved from a focus on a single awareness day, to a year-round campaign to build a more sustained approach to public awareness of key issues in stroke recognition and prevention and treatment. World Stroke Day continues to provide a focal point for the campaign with biennial themes which seek to draw attention to key issues in stroke prevention, treatment In 2010, the WSO launched the “1 in 6” campaign that would encompass future campaigns.
