The Canadian Stroke Strategy is literally hundreds of people, in small communities and big cities, working to change the health-care system, to prevent stroke and to alter the course of a disease that strikes one Canadian every 10 minutes. What began as an idea and partnership between the Canadian Stroke Network and Heart and Stroke Foundation has become a movement, driven by health-care professionals, families and people who’ve personally experienced a stroke – and borne of a few simple facts:

• The level and quality of stroke care provided in Canada varies dramatically from one part of the country to another. The health-care system needs to be reorganized to ensure that people get the best care, no matter where they live;
• Stroke is largely preventable and treatable. New research, drug therapy and rehabilitation practice can save lives and dramatically reduce disability. The suffering needs to stop;
• The cost of stroke is huge. Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death. Canadians spend some three million days a year bed-ridden because of stroke; it costs the health-care system $3 billion a year in direct costs alone; and the impact on families and society is immeasurable

For more information, visit CanadianStrokeStrategy.ca.