Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of strokes in young adults across the UK.

The risk factors for stroke in young people are largely the same as for older people. However, there are some additional risk factors that are seen more frequently in younger people such as dissection of the neck arteries, congenital abnormalities of the blood vessels in the brain, recreational drug use and antiphospholipid syndrome.

Public Health England is focussed on primary prevention to reduce the number of strokes in young adults across the United Kingdom. Educating the public to adopt a healthy lifestyle is an important factor in this. Change4Life is Public Health England’s flagship campaign to help families and children in England to eat well and move more.

In partnership with the Stroke Association, Public Health England relaunched the national ‘Act FAST’ stroke campaign in February 2017 and did so again in February 2018. This campaign targets people of all ages and aims to raise awareness of the symptoms of stroke, encouraging people who recognise any of the signs, in themselves or others, to call 999.