Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important motion brought here before the House today by the member for Dobell. I have often spoken in this place about the chronic health issues prevalent in my electorate of Calwell—health problems that disproportionately affect people from lower socioeconomic and non-English-speaking backgrounds. Ensuring and advocating for adequate access to the very important health information that is available for my constituents who do not speak English is, of course, one of my main concerns, and so it is with the important information and awareness-raising programs related to stroke.

Stroke is a major health issue in our community that potentially affects anyone at any time. It is not an old person's illness. It does not discriminate on the basis of postcode, gender, or ethnicity. It can pretty much happen to anyone at any time, and I want to applaud the efforts of the National Stroke Foundation in raising awareness though their annual Stroke Week, which takes place this month, September. I want to welcome them here to the parliament and commend them for the excellent work they do, work that is essential to saving lives in our community. The National Stroke Foundation is a national not-for-profit organisation that works with stroke survivors, carers, health professionals, government and the public to reduce the impact of stroke on the Australian community. Its mission is to be a voice of stroke prevention in Australia.

A stroke happens when blood supply to the brain is interrupted. Blood, as we know, is carried to the brain by arteries. It contains oxygen and important nutrients for your brain cells. Blood may be interrupted or stop moving through an artery because the artery is blocked or because the artery bursts. When brain cells do not get enough oxygen or nutrients, they die. Every stroke is different. Each person affected by stroke will have different problems and different needs. Nevertheless, raising awareness is critical to recognising the symptoms of a stroke so that immediate medical attention can be sought, which in turn maximises the chances for survival and recovery.

Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers and the leading cause for disability. One in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. This means that a person who has a stroke is likely to be someone we know: our partner, sister, brother, husband, wife, daughter, father, friend or colleague—in fact, people who are our constituents. Behind this statistic are real lives and real people.

In 2015 there will be more than 50,000 new and recurrent strokes. That is 1,000 strokes every week or one stroke every 10 minutes.    In 2012 there were nearly 130,000 Australian stroke survivors, or 30 per cent of stroke survivors, under the age of 65 in the community. In 2012 there were over 420,000 people living with the effects of stroke, and 30 per cent of these people were of working age. In 2015 there will be almost 440,000 people living with the effects of stroke. This is predicted to increase to some 709,000 by the year 2032. Stroke kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer. Sixty-five per cent of those living with stroke also suffer a disability that impedes their ability to carry out daily living activities unassisted. In 2012, the financial cost of stroke in Australia was estimated to be $5 billion. The estimate of the burden of disease cost at $49.3 billion is comparable to the $41 billion burden of disease cost that Deloitte Access Economics estimated for anxiety and depression in 2012.

Surviving a stroke means knowing the symptoms and acting quickly. My colleagues have repeatedly made that point today. Many stroke victims will also be people who will not ordinarily be considered an obvious risk of having a stroke. They will be younger than 50 and physically fit. They may run, cycle, swim or go regularly to the gym. They may not necessarily be overweight and they may not smoke. It is essential to know that you do not have to fit a typical risk profile in order to be a stroke victim. The important and critical message is that a stroke can happen to anyone at any time.

In raising awareness, it is important to emphasise that the best chance of surviving and recovering from a stroke is to get medical attention immediately or as soon as is possible because chances of maximising recovery depends on the time taken to get to a hospital. It is very important to stress this point. I want to support and commend this motion today because we are making a contribution to saving lives.

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