Ms Kleinitz, who suffered a severe stroke 20 years ago, spoke to nearly 50 U3A attendees.
She said the first sign of her stroke was when her sister commented on the left side of her face dropping and her speech being slurred.
Soon after, the entire left side of her body became paralysed.
Ms Kleinitz was admitted to a hospital in Adelaide but had to wait 20 hours for an MRI, which detected her stroke.
That delay hindered her recovery and affected her left leg and arm.
The effects of the stroke still impact her ability to walk and the movement of her left arm.
Ms Kleinitz said one in four Australians would have a stroke. It’s estimated that 27,428 Australians will suffer their first stroke within 12 months, which amounts to one every 19 minutes.
“It’s worrying that 40 per cent of Australians could not name any of the three most common signs of a stroke,” she said.
“They are F for face (facial drop), A for arms (inability to lift arms) and S for slurred speech.
“The acronym to remember is FAST, with the T to remind sufferers of the necessity of receiving timely medical intervention, initially by dialling 000.
“Most strokes display one or more of the three signs.
“A stroke is always a medical emergency.
“There is no time to lose because a blocked or burst artery cuts off blood supply to the brain, and untreated, a sufferer can lose 1.9 million brain cells a minute.”
Most stroke sufferers can recover well, although they may have to learn to walk, talk and eat again.
High blood pressure is one of the highest risk factors for strokes.
Other factors that can increase your risk of a stroke include:
- A family history of strokes
- Being overweight
- Being a smoker
- Having high cholesterol
- Having a high intake of alcohol
- Having diabetes
For more information, visit strokefoundation.org.au/
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