Recognising the three main signs of a stroke
People with diabetes or high blood pressure are at greater risk of a stroke. With around one stroke every five minutes, that’s over 100’000 strokes in the UK each year. It’s essential to be aware of the signs and symptoms:
Think FAST
1. Face – Is one side of their face drooping? Eye or mouth drooped? Are they unable to smile?
2. Arms – Can they lift both arms and keep them raised? Do they have numbness in one arm?
3. Speech – Are they unable to speak? Is their speech slurred? Can they understand what you’re saying?
Time – time for help – get medical assistance fast!
Dealing with the effect of a stroke is difficult, have peace of mind with lifesaving equipment.
Wearing a Personal Alarm provides both reassurance and confidence to the user and their family. By raising the alarm, the Personal Alarm user is connected directly to a Trained Monitoring Centre Agent, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The trained agents have immediate access to the user’s medical conditions, medications, allergies, key safe code/location, their dedicated emergency contacts and the current GPS location of the Personal Alarm. All the above information ensures a FAST response, providing the help needed in any emergency.
There are over 1.3 million stroke survivors in the UK. A stroke survivor is at a higher risk of falls due to muscle weakness, visual problems and fatigue. By wearing a Personal Alarm with a built-in Fall Detection Sensor, the technology within recognises the sudden drop in altitude, sending out an immediate alert without pressing the SOS button. The benefits the Personal Alarm provides enable the user to regain or maintain confidence with everyday activities in and away from home, keeping them living independently for longer.
Read our tips on how you can prevent falls around the home
A stroke survivor is around 30% more likely to suffer a secondary stroke. To avoid recurrence, follow the advice below.
Take your medicine
Prescribed medication cannot cure chronic problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. However, it lowers the risk of dangerous consequences such as a stroke, secondary stroke or heart attack. Therefore, always take your prescribed medication as directed – even when you’re feeling healthy and well, don’t miss a dose!
90% of strokes are related to lifestyle choices such as: poor diet, smoking and lack of exercise. Changing these habits can have a positive effect, lowering the risk of a secondary stroke.
Change your diet
Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, avoiding ready-made meals and takeaways. Maintain a healthy blood pressure level by reducing your salt intake. For a healthy cholesterol level, avoid eating saturated fats.
Drinking plenty of fluids daily (water/squash/tea/coffee), drink alcohol in moderation. Some studies have shown red wine could be linked to a lower risk of blood clotting and inflammation.
Get your healthy eating guide from Stroke Association
Stop Smoking
Smoking increases blood stickiness, maximising the risk of blood clots forming. In addition, smoking accelerates blood pressure as it reduces oxygen in the blood.
If you switch from traditional tobacco to vaping electronic cigarettes, you will lower your risk of suffering a stroke in the short term whilst trying to kick the habit. However, in the long-term vapers are more likely to have a stroke earlier in life than tobacco smokers.
Exercise
Keep moving – daily exercise improves the health of your blood vessels, lowering high blood pressure. By increasing your activity level, you are decreasing the risk of a stroke. If you struggle, start with light activities such as: walking from room to room, chair exercises, and yoga.
REVIEW
Mrs Matson is a stroke survivor. She is back living in her own home where she resides in the historic market town of Faringdon, which lies at the edge of the Cotswolds, in the Vale of the White Horse in Oxford. Mrs Marson has heart problems and has survived several mini-strokes. She contacted us at LifeLine365 and purchased a Telecare Pendant Alarm as a reassuring safety net to continue her independent living.
“It gives me added protection. People do fall and the main problem is that if I fell, I wouldn’t be able to get back up again. I’ve known people to fall in the garden and lay there all night, so having the Pendant is a help and a safeguard. It works everywhere outside.
Once you get used to it, you check the red light comes on when you charge it, there’s nothing much to it.
Every time I accidentally triggered the alarm, people answered straight away. It’s a very good thing to have.”
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Easy to set up and ready to use straight out of the box.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not quite sure if this is the product for you? Full of questions? Perhaps, we can put your mind at rest with our answers below.
- GPS Smart Tracker SOS Personal Alarm
- Lanyard
- Wrist Strap
- Charging station
- USB cable
- Three pin plug
- Instruction manual
The SOS Personal is discreet and lightweight – weight 35 grams. It can be worn as a pendant or with a wrist strap.
The Lifeline Personal Alarm waterproof level is IPX5. It can be worn in the shower or the rain, suitable for use in high-risk areas such as the bathroom. It is not to be submerged directly into water by either taking a bath or swimming.
The Lifeline Personal Alarm uses mobile phone networks to ensure your always connected. The device is ready to use straight from the box. A landline or internet connection is not required.
The Lifeline Personal Alarm has a lithium battery which is rechargeable and cannot be overcharged. A full battery will operate up to 48-72 hours (2-3 days) depending on usage. Our recommendation is to charge the Lifeline Personal Alarm as part of your daily routine, eliminating the risk of the battery becoming flat.
The Lifeline Personal Alarm has a multi-network SIM card which attaches to the strongest available network, unlike a mobile phone that only operates off a single network provider. With the multi-network SIM, you have the added security knowing that if one network is down or an outage occurs, the multi-network SIM automatically connects to the next available network. The Lifeline Personal Alarm also features a microphone and speaker, enabling you to always speak and listen directly through the device, whilst at home, in the garden or when “out and about”.
24-hour Monitoring Service
24-hour Monitoring Service enables the Lifeline Personal Alarm to be used anywhere in the UK and EU countries, always providing you with reassurance when travelling or on holiday.
Family and Friends Monitoring
Family and Friends Monitoring provides cover anywhere in the UK (EU countries not included).
- Ensure the charging station is plugged into the mains electric.
- Insert the Lifeline Personal Alarm into the charging station, ensuring you hear it CLICK into place, vibrate and a red LED light appears on the front of the charging station.
- Charge the Lifeline Personal Alarm daily.
From a flat battery the charging time is approximately 4 to 5 hours. It’s recommended that charging is carried out overnight by your bedside, kept within easy reach should an emergency arise.
If the Lifeline Personal Alarm has not been worn daily and has remained in the charging station for 24 hours or more, it MUST be removed from the charging station and re-inserted ensuring you hear it CLICK, vibrate and the red LED light appears on the charging station, for the device to regain a full battery.
NB, when the Lifeline Personal Alarm is fully charged, the red LED light will disappear on the charging station and charging ceases. The SOS Pendant Alarm will now use the charge held in the device and the battery will slowly drain over time, even whilst sat in the charging station. The Lifeline Personal Alarm is unable to automatically re-start the process of charging when the battery is low or empty, when sat in the charging station. It requires the user to remove the device from the charging station and re-insert to start the charging process to obtain a full battery.
The blue and green lights will flash intermittently indicating the Lifeline Personal Alarm is connected to the mobile network and has battery life.
The blue light flashing every second indicates the battery is below 20% and needs charging by inserting into the charging station. While the device is charging, the blue light will remain solid (not flashing).
Yes, the Lifeline Personal Alarm meets the European standards and will not affect your pacemaker working.
The Lifeline Personal Alarm is designed to wear around the neck with the lanyard cord or by inserting into the wrist strap, whichever you feel most comfortable with.
To ensure your safety and security at all times, it’s recommended you wear the Lifeline Personal Alarm throughout the day. This protects you at home, when showering or “out and about”.
Wear the Personal Alarm from the moment you wake up until the time you retire to bed. By charging the Lifeline Personal Alarm next to your bedside, keeps it within easy reach should you need assistance during the night.
If you accidently trigger a false alert on your Lifeline Personal Alarm, a notification is automatically sent to either of the below services.
24-hour Monitoring Service
The 24-hour Monitoring Centre will contact you via the Lifeline Personal Alarm to check your wellbeing and requirement for assistance. Advise them it was a false alarm and continue to wear your Lifeline Personal Alarm.
Family and Friends Monitoring
All 3 chosen Emergency Contacts will receive an SMS text message alerting them to your need of assistance with a link of your current GPS location. Emergency Contact 1 will receive a telephone call from your SOS Pendant Alarm, allowing you to speak through the device directly with them. Should Emergency Contact 1 not answer it will automatically call Emergency Contact 2 and repeat to Emergency Contact 3.
Advise them it was a false alarm.
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