If there were an award for the world’s most inappropriately named medical condition, ‘stroke’ would win. We use the word when talking about petting a dog or caressing a lover – the polar opposite of what a medical stroke is. A serious and life-threatening condition, strokes frequently cause paralysis, slurred speech, confusion – or worse. A stroke is a wholly terrifying experience and we used to say it was being “stuck by God”. Any brain function can be affected and today we know they are caused by a sudden lack of oxygen to the brain. To you and me, it’s good enough just to think of stroke as a medical emergency that warrants a speeding ambulance.

So when we heard a couple of weeks ago that there is “an alarming increase in the numbers of people having a stroke in working age”, the blue lights of fear started flashing in many of us. The BBC and many news outlets headlined a Stroke Association report, declaring that rates of stroke in men under 55 had ‘rocketed’ by ‘almost 50 per cent’ since the year 2000; and the number of young women suffering a stroke had similarly increased by a third. Medical experts were wheeled out on TV to tell us that our desk jobs, expanding midriffs and meagre vegetable portions are at fault. If there ever were a reason to put down the iPad and pick up the tennis racket then this was it. The only problem is that the numbers are wrong – the risk of stroke in young adults is falling, not rising. The Stroke Association’s researchers didn’t know that the UK’s two major stroke registers (in London and Oxford) have been showing a drop in strokes. Yes, Britain may be getting fatter and ever-more internet-addicted, but we are also smoking less, eating less salt and being good boys and girls at taking our blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering pills.

The published report only counted the number of people pitching up at hospital with a stroke. This is happening because we are getting better at spotting stroke – not because more people are having strokes. A decade ago, had your Dad’s face gone droopy you might have put it down to a ‘funny turn’. Today most of us would (hopefully) dial 999. We are now also admitting more people with ‘mini strokes’ (TIAs) than ever before. In the past the GP might have just prescribed an aspirin and bedrest. Most importantly, we now have life-saving clot-busting drugs that can make a real difference in stopping disability and death if the person gets to hospital quickly.

May was Action on Stroke Awareness Month, and it started with a scare story reminding us that strokes can affect anyone at any age. This should have been a good news story because medicine is saving more lives and preventing more disability than ever before. More can be done, however, and everyone needs to know what to look out for and to ‘act fast’. Check out the Act F.A.S.T. campaign if you haven’t seen the adverts (online at nhs.uk/actfast or see image ).

There are no guarantees in this life but we can all cut our risk by doing all those healthy things doctors love to tell you: don’t smoke, exercise regularly, eat healthily, drink in moderation, and keep blood pressure, cholesterol and other medical conditions in check . Let us end Action on Stroke Month with a celebration that rates of stroke are falling. In another fifteen years, let’s hope that this continues to the point that the word ‘stroke’ has one less meaning.