A new national campaign highlighting the signs of a stroke and the need to act quickly is being welcomed by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.

Strokes effect around 9000 and kills more than 2500 Kiwis each year – making it the third largest killer in New Zealand after heart disease and cancer, according to the Stroke Foundation of NZ.

The FAST campaign aims to teach Kiwis the signs and symptoms of someone suffering a stroke. Image: Stroke Foundation of NZ. Watch the video further down in the article.

The new FAST campaign – which stands for ‘Face, Arm, Speech and Time' – focuses on the key signs of a stroke and emphasises the swift action needed if you're concerned.

'This is because sudden changes to a person's face such as drooping, dramatic loss of arm strength or slurred speech could all be warnings that they're suffering from a stroke,” explains Jonathan.

'Early identification and treatment is crucial to reduce the likelihood of brain damage and lasting harm.”

The campaign follows a survey by the Stroke Foundation which found around one-third of New Zealanders were unable to recognise any signs of stroke.

Jonathan says hospitals are also getting better at identifying stroke patients and moving them to specialist units quicker and DHBs are making steady improvements towards the 80 per cent target.

The number of patients managed in a stroke unit or a stroke service increased to 74 per cent for the three months ending December 2015, compared to 66 per cent for the same period in 2014.

While the number of patients who received stroke thrombylosis, a clot busting therapy suitable for a small number of patients, increased to nine per cent for the three months ending December 2015 - up from six per cent for the same period in 2014.

'All DHBs now offer clot busting medicines or stroke thrombylosis, but it is currently only a 24/7 service in the larger centres,” he says.

'To help address this a telestroke pilot gets underway this weekend. Specialists at Wellington Regional Hospital will be available after hours to provide advice for time sensitive cases via video link to four regional hospitals.

The pilot will run for six months and includes Hawke's Bay, Nelson, Wairau, and Palmerston North.

Developed by the Ministry of Health, Health Promotion Agency and Stroke Foundation, the FAST campaign will run across a range of media until early August.

For more information visit the Stroke Foundation of NZ's website at: www.stroke.org.nz/See-a-Stroke-FAST