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'Alarming Rise' In Strokes Among Younger Men

tracy123 — Tue, 12 May 2015 19:14:00 GMT

Lack of exercise and poor diet are behind a rise in the number of people of working age being affected by strokes, say experts.

07:53, UK, Tuesday 12 May 2015

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

There has been "an alarming increase" in the number of working-age people suffering strokes, with unhealthy lifestyles being seen as the main cause.

The number of strokes occurring in those aged between 20 and 64 in England has gone up 25% since 2000, according to the Stroke Association.

But in men aged between 40 and 54, the increase is particularly alarming - up almost 50%. In women aged 40-54 the increase is 30%.

The elderly are most at risk of suffering a stroke but the dramatic increase of occurrences in younger people is of particular concern to employers.

"There is an alarming increase in the numbers of people having a stroke in working age," said John Barrick from the Stroke Association.

"One of the major causes is high blood pressure and often that is something people do not realise they have.

"High blood pressure is associated with obesity, lack of exercise, increase in salt and bad diet plus all of the things we are told we mustn't do like smoking or drinking too much.

"We have seen an increase in many of those factors and we think that is now feeding through to the working age population."

The Stroke Association believes employers are not doing enough to help workers who have suffered a stroke.

Mr Barrick said: "Having a stroke is bad enough, but being written off by your employer through a lack of understanding can be catastrophic.

"Businesses play a crucial role in helping stroke survivors get back into the workplace and on the road to recovery. That's why we're calling on employers to be aware of the physical and emotional impact of stroke."

44-year-old banker Rebecca Nightingale was on her way out for the evening after a long day at work when she suffered a stroke on the London Underground - she had no idea that her blood pressure was high.

She told Sky News: "I just knew something wasn't quite right. I kept dropping my handbag and I couldn't use my right hand. I had no strength and must have dropped my bag at Waterloo about 3 or 4 times.

"You always think of it as being an old person's thing and I just thought 'it can't be a stroke. I am too young at 44'. As far as I was concerned, I had nothing else to make me think I had anything to worry about health-wise."

Rebecca has made a good recovery although often feels fatigued and suffers some numbness on the right side of her body. She has returned to work part-time.

"They [my employers] were obviously quite nervous about having me back because they did not know what to expect and I think this must be common.

"They have never had someone in their workforce who's ever had a stroke and they just didn't know what to do."

The Stroke Association estimates that loss of income, due to death and disability from stroke, amounts to over £1.3bn each year.

From Munich to Berlin: Barcelona aim to make fourth Champions League final in 10 years with victory

tracy123 — Tue, 12 May 2015 19:12:00 GMT

With Barcelona holding a 3-0 advantage going into their second leg with Bayern Munich, the Spanish press have unsurprisingly tipped them to make yet another Champions League final.

The La Liga giants, lead by the in-form attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, will be looking to finish the job against Pep Guardiola's side.

And Mundo Deportivo have run with a 'From Munich to Berlin' headline on their back page as they look ahead to a possible final in the German capital.

Real Madrid full-back Dani Carvajal wary of Juventus threat in Champions League semi-final

tracy123 — Tue, 12 May 2015 19:11:00 GMT

Dani Carvajal: Wary of Juventus' counter-attacking threat

Dani Carvajal insists Real Madrid cannot be too gung-ho in their approach when they take on Juventus at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

The reigning champions go into the Champions League semi-final second leg behind in the tie after a 2-1 defeat in Turin and the full-back is wary of the threat posed by Juve on the counter-attack.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men have been suspect at the back in recent weeks and Carvajal is looking for a calm and composed performance from his side.

John Travolta to star in series about OJ Simpson trial

tracy123 — Tue, 12 May 2015 19:09:00 GMT

Like many people, John Travolta remembers where he was when OJ Simpson was arrested in 1994 and later faced murder charges relating to the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.

"I had just returned from the Cannes Film Festival where we won the Palme d'Or for Pulp Fiction. I was on this kind of high with a new career and then this American tragedy was happening," the actor said on Monday at a red carpet for Fox's Upfront, where networks debut their new TV shows for advertisers.

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Travolta, along with Cuba Gooding Jr, David Schwimmer and Sarah Paulson have signed on to star in a new true crime anthology series coming to FX called American Crime Story. Season one will focus on the OJ Simpson trial and is based on a book by Jeffrey Toobin, who covered the trial extensively for The New Yorker.

^{From left: John Travolta, Sarah Paulson, Courtney B Vance, Cuba Gooding Jr and David Schwimmer (Getty Images)}

Travolta, 61, plays Simpson's attorney Robert Shapiro. Ryan Murphy is directing the series, which is one week into the filming schedule.

"That trial sort of gave birth to a new kind of media coverage," Murphy said. "It felt like an origin story of something that was the first and now we're still dealing with the reverberations of that, so it feels very modern to me."

Gooding plays Simpson, the pro-football Hall of Famer and actor. "People keep asking me whether I think he did it or not, and I don't think that's the goal here, to prove his innocence or his guilt," Gooding said. "I think it's more us putting the judicial system under the spotlight.

^{OJ Simpson tries on leather gloves, allegedly worn by the murderer, during his trial (Getty Images)}

"We try to find a truth in the moment so that we can find answers. I think this 10 hours of television is going to be very powerful, and I think a lot of people are going to learn a lot."

David Schwimmer portrays the late Robert Kardashian, an attorney on Simpson's defence team and a loyal defender of the former pro-football player. He says he spoke to Kardashian's ex-wife, Kris Jenner, for insight into the role.

"I was lucky enough to speak to [Jenner] for a few hours. [She] was very generous with her time," he said. "I thought, 'Who better to tell me who Robert was as a husband and a father than her?' and it's been a very exciting process so far."

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Jenner will be portrayed by Selma Blair.

Actress Sarah Paulson, who has already worked with Murphy in American Horror Story, said she's been analysing footage to prepare for her part as prosecutor Marcia Clark.

"I'm just trying to take in her mannerisms, and then at the same time let some of it go. At first I thought, 'Well I have to do her voice.' And then I thought, 'Her voice isn't actually iconic. As long as I'm not doing something weird, you're not going to know it's not her voice.'"

Paulson decided to imitate how Clark "listened a lot with her head to the side" and other mannerisms of the prosecutor.

American Crime Story will premiere on FX in 2016