Hi everyone, After listening to all of your feedback and all of our meetings over the last year or so we have broadened our understanding of what Stroke-Proof is about and come to see that we need to go much further than just prevention. Maggie and I are keen to write Stroke-Proof the book as a guide for Stroke survivors to help navigate the situation they find themselves in post stroke, but we need your help to get it right. We will be pulling in other professionals to help us write this and we'll need you all to tell us if what we are writing is helpful, but firstly we need to make sure we cover the correct areas. After reflecting on all that we have learned from you the below are our proposed chapters. Please let me know if these look right to you or if you think we should add or remove any sections or change the order. Part 1: The Beginning of Recovery 1. A Message of Hope - Recovery is possible - The brain can adapt and rewire - Progress often continues for months and years - Setting realistic expectations - Finding purpose after stroke 2. You're Not Alone - Stroke survivor stories - Different ages and stroke types - Lessons learned from recovery - Common emotional experiences 3. Finding Support - Stroke Association - Different Strokes - Stroke Proof - Online communities - Family and carers - When and where to seek help Part 2: Understanding What Happened 4. What Is a Stroke? - Ischaemic vs haemorrhagic stroke - TIA - What happens inside the brain - Areas of the brain and how they impact symptoms in stroke - Why symptoms vary between individuals - Dementia - the other major brain health condition  5. Tests and Investigations - CT brain - CT angiography - CT perfusion - MRI - Carotid ultrasound - Echocardiogram - Heart rhythm monitoring - Blood tests - What doctors are looking for 6. Why Did My Stroke Happen? - Causes of stroke - Blocked arteries - Atrial fibrillation - Small vessel disease - Rare causes - When no cause is found

Dear wonderful Stroke-Proof members, A key part of the Stroke-Proof community and the future book will be sharing stroke survivors stories. I hope these stories will provide hope to other stroke survivors. Especially those who have recently had a stroke and might be wondering what the future holds in store for them. I also hope it will be a useful opportunity for you to reflect on your journey. If you want to do so please use this thread to share your story, but remember there is no pressure to do so. If you could please also confirm whether you are happy for your story to be shared in the book and in other materials for Stroke survivors and if we do so whether you would prefer to remain anonymised. If you woud like to share your story in here but to remain anonymous you can do so by direct messaging me and I will then copy and paste what you send me into the chat. I would highly recommend writing whatever you want to say in a word document and then copy and pasteing it into here as I know some people have lost entries in here that didn't save properly. I hope you have a happy Friday!

One of the most powerful things you can do for your health is to start reading food labels. Take a look at these three chocolate bars. They might all look like similar treats, but there's a HUGE difference in how much sugar they contain. 🍫 Dark chocolate: Just 15g of sugar per 100g. 🍫 The other two bars: Around 40–50g of sugar per 100g. That's up to three times as much sugar! Living a healthier life doesn't have to mean giving up the foods you love. It's about being curious, getting creative and finding healthier alternatives that you still enjoy. My wife and I have developed a taste for dark chocolate and find that not only does it contain less sugar, but the intense taste means just 1 or 2 squares are usually enough to satisfy the urge for something delicious. ✅ Compare the sugar content per 100g, not just per serving. ✅ Look at the ingredients as well as the numbers. ✅ Try different brands and varieties — you might be surprised by the differences in seemingly similar products. ✅ Look out for e numbers and artificial preservatives ✅ Remember that portion size matters too! Of course, dark chocolate isn't automatically healthy. It can still be high in calories and saturated fat. But choosing an option with less sugar can be one small, positive change. And those small changes, repeated over months and years, can make a real difference to your long-term health. 💡This week: Share your healthy food swap. Is there one food you've replaced with something healthier that is so nice you don't miss the old food? OR Become a label detective and share the most shocking difference that you have found between 2 seemingly similar products!

Good afternoon. Just a reminder that we have a meeting tomorrow 4 to 4:30. This is a chance to catch up for 30 minutes and share our experiences and progress in managing stroke and reducing our risk of future stroke. I hope to see you tomorrow.

Apologies for all of the questions this week, but we really value your input. We are working on a hospital information letter which would be tailored to each stroke survivor with key information. I've attached drafts of 2 possible documents which we might use. One was designed by us and the other is from the World Stroke Organisation. Please could you provide feedback on both documents to help guide us in producing a final document which will hopefully be the best of both worlds.