A BROMSGROVE man has been praised for helping save his father's life after recognising the symptoms of a stroke.

Michal Szynal acted fast after seeing the signs and phoned 999 to ensure he got his father to Worcestershire Royal Hospital as quickly as possible, for potentially life-saving treatment.

After a quick examination and a scan by the radiology team, Krzysztof Szynal was found to have had a large blood clot which had caused a stroke. The stroke team then sprang into action and at this point Michal said his father could barely recognise him.

Once the stroke team took over they carried out intravenous thrombolysis on Krzysztof - a treatment which involves pumping medicine through the blood to dissolve the blood clot – which is only possible when done within the first four and a half hours following a stroke.

Michal Szynal said: “I noticed my dad had some weakness down the right side of his body, and his speech was badly affected and recognised these as symptoms of a stroke. I called 999 to get an ambulance straightaway as I remembered hearing you need to act fast with strokes.

“Everyone was fantastic with my dad. It all happened so quickly it was a bit of an adrenaline rush. When we first got there my dad could barely even recognise me, but after a few hours a miracle took place and the progress was amazing.”

Consultant Physician Dr Philemon Sanmuganathan highlighted the importance of acting quickly with stroke cases.

“It is vital to get stroke patients treated as quickly as possible. I cannot stress enough the importance of time in cases like this one," he said.

“I would advise anyone who notices someone’s face, arms and speech affected to act immediately and call 999, as every second counts in the treatment of stroke patients.”

For more details on stroke visit nhs.uk/actfast.