![\"Andrea,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6e2ca4cb3364872ddd637aa3b07d5f0e.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nA woman who had a stroke while taking a nap has urged others to have their blood pressure checked before it is too late.<\/p>\n
Andrea Berry, 58, was aware that she had high blood pressure but said she had no idea this put her at risk.<\/p>\n
Stroke is the fourth biggest killer in Wales, costing the Welsh NHS \u00a3220m a year.<\/p>\n
The number of people having strokes could rise over the next decade if the “postcode lottery” of prevention and care in Wales is not fixed, the Stroke Association has warned.<\/p>\n
The Welsh government said, with up to 80% of strokes preventable, maintaining a strong focus on prevention was “vital”.<\/p>\n
Andrea, from Cardiff, was resting after packing for a house move in 2024 when she had a stroke – an experience she described as “terrifying”.<\/p>\n
“I just didn’t understand what was happening to me – you feel like a child in an adult’s body when parts of you are shutting down,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I tried to shout for help but my voice wasn’t working.”<\/p>\n
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Andrea has learned to drive with her left hand after having a stroke [BBC]<\/p>\n
“My temperature was rising to my head and apparently that’s a sign of the blood pressure rising – it feels like a volcano, you’re going to explode, but I didn’t realise.”<\/p>\n
Fortunately, Andrea’s son recognised the signs of a stroke after seeing adverts on the TV, and called for help.<\/p>\n
But there was a four-hour wait for an ambulance, so Andrea’s family wrapped her in a duvet cover, carried her to the car and drove her to the hospital themselves.<\/p>\n
She received life-saving treatment at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and has now revamped her lifestyle, lost five stone and feels “so lucky to be alive”.<\/p>\n
What is a stroke and what are the symptoms?![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/158f7c1de938b09d325877d5491edf12.jpeg\"\/)
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A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain becomes cut off or reduced, starving the brain of oxygen [Getty Images]<\/p>\n
A stroke is a life-threatening medical condition which happens when blood stops flowing to a part of your brain.<\/p>\n
It can affect things like speech and movement and take a long time to recover from, according to the NHS.<\/p>\n
The main symptoms can happen suddenly and may include facial weakness, arm weakness and slurred speech.<\/p>\n
Around 7,000 people in Wales have a stroke every year and it can happen to anyone at any age.<\/p>\n
High blood pressure causes around half of all strokes, and being over 50 can also increase the risk.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/c6abbba2882e0716ebf93befe81d7841.jpeg\"\/)
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Marc, a retired former professional footballer from north Wales, says “high blood pressure doesn’t care who you are” [BBC]<\/p>\n
Marc Lloyd Williams, a Welsh former professional footballer, said he discovered his blood pressure was high in 2016 at the age of 43, but believed it was nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n
“I’d been active all day,” said Marc.<\/p>\n
“I thought the high reading was just because I’d been exercising.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t follow it up and that was my mistake.”<\/p>\n
Later that day, Marc noticed weakness in his right arm, but convinced himself it was nothing serious.<\/p>\n
“My speech was fine, so I didn’t think it could be a stroke,” he said.<\/p>\n
“You tell yourself the warnings are for other people,” he added.<\/p>\n
It was only when his wife insisted he seek help that he was rushed to hospital for urgent treatment.<\/p>\n
“High blood pressure doesn’t care who you are – if something feels wrong, you need to act,” he said.<\/p>\n
‘Postcode lottery’<\/p>\n
There is concern that as Wales’ elderly population grows, more people will experience a stroke.<\/p>\n
The Stroke Association said the cost to the Welsh economy of treating and managing the condition was “expected to soar” from \u00a31.63bn a year to \u00a32.8bn by 2035.<\/p>\n
Angela Contestabile, from the Stroke Association, said there was also a “postcode lottery across Wales as to who gets treatment, and who gets it when”.<\/p>\n
She said stroke services have been “declining” since 2019.<\/p>\n
“We know that there are some stroke prevention projects going on across Wales, but they’re not very joined up and they’re not being run nationwide in a targeted way to people who are at higher risk – and that’s what we’re asking Welsh government to do,” she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Angela](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/529103745efbb66881edff97ddb95002.jpeg\"\/)
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Angela Contestabile from the Stroke Association says stroke prevention and care needs to improve [BBC]<\/p>\n