Someone will have a stroke every half an hour in Scotland without urgent action on prevention

Nearly 46 people will have a stroke every day in Scotland – that's one person every 32 minutes – by 2035¹ unless the public are better informed about the causes of stroke and how to prevent it.

The Stroke Association is expecting the number of people having a first or second stroke in Scotland to increase to more than 16,500 a year by 2035. Currently, 30 people have a stroke every day in Scotland, which is one person every forty-nine minutes.

Nine in ten strokes are preventable² and one of the biggest causes – causing around half of all strokes – is high blood pressure.

This Stroke Prevention Day (29 January), the Stroke Association is urging the public to help protect themselves against stroke by monitoring their blood pressure regularly and taking steps to keep it at a healthy level. This includes eating a healthy diet, not smoking or vaping, getting regular exercise, and not drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.

Stroke is the third biggest cause of death in Scotland³ and the leading cause of complex adult disability⁴, which can leave survivors unable to see, speak, move or even swallow.

The latest Scottish Stroke Statistics once again lay out the extent of stroke in Scotland. It devastates lives in all corners of society including increasing incidence of strokes in people of working age (under 65s) over the last 10 years⁵.

John Watson, Associate Director for the Stroke Association in Scotland, said:

“Whilst we welcome news of a marginal drop in stroke incidence and the death of stroke patients this past year, too many people in Scotland are still having their lives ruined by this condition.

“The cost of stroke to Scotland is immense, whether it’s to the health and social care system responding to the complex needs of stroke survivors, or in the loss of people’s quality of life and livelihood.

“For Stroke Prevention Day we are asking all adults to check their blood pressure regularly and find out the causes of high blood pressure, so they can make informed decisions about their health.

“There’s a real lack of awareness of how smoking, poor diet, drinking too much alcohol and not getting regular exercise causes high blood pressure and can store up problems for later life.”

High blood pressure often – but not always - has no symptoms. All adults should have their blood pressure checked at least every five years. Anyone who could be or has been diagnosed with high blood pressure should check it regularly and speak to their GP for advice.

In some cases, high blood pressure may cause symptoms. NHS advice is to speak to your GP if you have symptoms of very high blood pressure such as headaches, blurred or double vision, regular nosebleeds or shortness of breath.

There is information on the causes of high blood pressure at High blood pressure | Stroke Association  Some GP practices will provide a blood pressure monitor to take home or they can be bought from pharmacies and other retail outlets for around £20.

The Stroke Association is part of the Our Future Health collaboration between the NHS, public, charity and private sectors to help everyone lead longer and healthier lives. It has already set up more than 100 UK clinics where people can get basic health checks, including nine in central Scotland.

Scottish Health Survey data⁶ show that the risk factors for stroke in adults are showing little sign of abating:

• A third of adults (31%) were obese in 2024, similar to 32% in 2023

• Just over one in ten adults (11%) ate five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day, the lowest recorded by the Scottish Health Survey since it began in 2003 

• Around six in ten adults met the guidelines for moderate or vigorous physical activity (62%), similar to 2023 (63%) with the Scottish Health Survey noting that adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week

• Fourteen per cent of adults were current smokers, the same as in 2023, maintaining the overall downward trend since 2003 (28%)

• 20% of adults were drinking alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels, the same as in 2023 and a drop from 34% in 2003. NHS advice is to drink no more than 14 units a week to help minimise the health risks from alcohol

The Stroke Association supports stroke survivors and their families online, by phone and in the community. Find out more at Scotland | Stroke Association

References

1. Cost of Stroke report, which outlines a 60% increase in strokes in the UK in the 20 years from 2015 to 2035 https://www.stroke.org.uk/sites/default/files/costs_of_stroke_in_the_uk_summary_report_0.pdf
2. Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021) https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/
3. https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/vital-events-ref-tables/2022/vital-events-ref-tables-22-publication.pdf
4. https://www.gov.scot/publications/stroke-improvement-plan-2023/pages/2/
5. Age-Sex Standardised Incidence Rate of stroke per 100,000 population in those aged under 65 has increased by 11.1% from 131.1 in 2015/16 to 145.7 in 2024/25. https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/scottish-stroke-statistics/scottish-stroke-statistic…
6. Scottish Health Survey - gov.scot