Public assessments for blood pressure, blood sugar levels and stroke risk levels will be given at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital this month for World Stroke Day.

The Bermuda Hospitals Board, Evolution Healing Centre and the Bermuda Diabetes Association will also give free health information in two events on October 29.

Screenings will be offered in the hospital’s lobby from 10am to 2pm, after an address by Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, at 9.30am.

A free public talk with light refreshments, Stroke of Genius, will come that evening at The Waterfront on Pitts Bay Road in Hamilton from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, with a panel of experts addressing stroke and rehabilitation questions, along with survivor stories.

The registration link is offered online.

The BHB will also partner with Bermuda is Love, Function Junction and Island Nutrition on October 31 for an informal stroke awareness event in Queen Elizabeth Park in Hamilton.

Stroke awareness volunteers will include a registered dietitian, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nurses offering advice on stroke and how to recognise the symptoms.

Kimberley Watkins, of Evolution Healing Centre, encouraged stroke survivors to take part in an online stroke survey aimed at improving the island’s services.

Srinath Meadipudi, director of the BHB primary stroke centre, said: “We always stress the importance of knowing stroke symptoms.”

Critical information on stroke can be remembered using the acronym “be fast” for balance (sudden loss of balance); eyes (sudden vision changes); face (one side of the face drooping); arms (weakness in one arm); speech (slurred or strange speech); and time (call emergency services immediately).