Strokes represent one of the leading causes of death and disability in the UK, impacting around 100,000 patients each year.

However, with one in seven strokes seen as preventable, a new project led by experts at the University of Plymouth, aims to enhance the ability to predict whether a person is at an increased risk of stroke.

This research project will assess past brain scans and other medical test results of stroke survivors and aim to establish if there are patterns which could have identified them as being at higher risk of stroke. The research team will then look to develop a series of artificial intelligence models that can predict whether someone is at greater risk of experiencing a stroke at any point over the next decade.

With the first five years of care post stroke costing the NHS around £3.6billion, and 13.7% of strokes regarded as being preventable, the project team hopes its work will not only improve lives but also prove cost effective at a time when the health system is under greater financial pressure than ever.

Dr Stephen Mullin, Associate Professor in Neurology in the University of Plymouth’s Peninsula Medical School and Consultant Neurologist at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, is the project’s principal investigator.

He said: “Strokes can have a significant impact on both the people who experience them and their families. Often when we review the brain scans people who have had a major stroke, we see features – including what we call ‘silent strokes’ – that could have identified them as being at risk. We hope that by applying our expertise to create a way of improving stroke prediction, it will both prevent people developing a stroke and in the process save money which can be used to improve patient care elsewhere.”

The University of Plymouth research team will be collaborating with experts from University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and the University of Exeter. You can read more about the group's research here.

All donations received will be directed to this research team and their important work to help people at risk of a stroke.