THOUSANDS of people in Scotland could be saved from having a stroke by 2035 if research into the latest stroke prevention procedures were properly funded, according to a report published today.

Stroke is the third most common killer in Scotland and the leading cause of disability, but most strokes can be avoided.

A report, by the Stroke Association and carried out at Queen Mary University of London and London School of Economics, estimates that a £10 million investment in research into interventions such as blood pressure management, treatments for atrial fibrillation which increases the risk of stroke, and treatments to prevent haemorrhagic stroke - the deadliest type - would cut by 114,000 the number of people living with a stroke in UK by 2035.

The report also called for additional research cash for physical and cognitive rehabilitation, vascular dementia and thrombectomy - the emergency surgical removal of blood clots.

Andrea Cail, Director Scotland of the Stroke Association, said: “The annual number of stroke survivors is expected to increase dramatically by 2035. It’s clear that we need to act now to prevent the UK from sleepwalking towards a stroke crisis.”

Charlie Ross, from Bishopton in Renfrewshire, was only 54 when he was diagnosed with a “mini-stroke”, or TIA (transient ischaemic attack). It is caused by a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain and is a warning sign that the patient is at a significantly increased risk of a full stroke in the near future.

Mr Ross, 61, who was then a regional account sales manager, spent three weeks recovering in hospital but seven years on he says his right-arm is “pretty useless” and his walking laboured. He took redundancy in 2014 and helps out in clinical trials into stroke, but says the fatigue following the stroke can be “unbelievable”.

He has also suffered serious falls at home - breaking four ribs when he fell days before his son’s wedding, and then breaking his hip on his 60th birthday last year.

Although he has learned how to drive a disability-adapted car and says being left-handed was a “saving grace”, he misses being able to hold his one-year-old grandson, also called Charlie.

He said: “He’s our first grandson so you miss out on things like picking him up. He’s starting to toddle and walk a wee bit and he’s desperate to hold your hand, but I think he’s got more chance of finishing a circuit than I would.

“You have to compensate for it with other things, so I read to him and things like that.”