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Bupa Foundation receives an award from The Stroke Association

23 May 2007

The Bupa Foundation, the independent medical research charity, is used to giving out awards - now it has received one.

The Stroke Association, the UK charity which looks to combat strokes in people of all ages, honoured the Foundation for providing around £1.2 million to fund medical research into the condition.

The prize was presented to the Foundation Chairman, Dame Deirdre Hine at The Stroke Association's annual awards ceremony, called Life After Stroke, in London on 23 May.

Among projects supported by the Foundation is a study at St George's Hospital, London, to establish whether surgery to remove fatty deposits in arteries which causes them to narrow is an effective method of preventing strokes in at risk patients.

Previous studies have indicated, but not proved, that this type of surgery halved the risk of stroke in people aged below 75. The Foundation made a £179,000 award towards the project.

It is hoped the results of this research could highlight the benefits of surgery and as a result prevent thousands of people each year from suffering a stroke.

Other initiatives include:

• a grant of £235,000 for a scheme looking at improving the management of blood pressure in stroke patients
• a £127,000 boost for a project to help rehabilitate people who have had a stroke using robot-assisted therapy
• more than £160,000 for a study to improve early prevention of stroke

In addition through its annual awards the Foundation has backed a number of stroke-related studies such as a scheme that has succeeded in doubling the chance of older stroke victims getting back on their feet and being active again.

Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen, Bupa Group medical director and deputy chairman of the Foundation, said: "The Foundation is delighted to be recognised in this way for the funding it has provided to support research into the prevention and management of stroke. Stroke affects thousands of people every year and the Foundation will be even more pleased if, over time, the research it has funded results in fewer people suffering this often debilitating condition."

The Bupa Foundation has donated more than £21 million to medical research and healthcare initiatives across a range of disciplines from medicine to surgery to occupational health.

The Foundation donates around £2.5 million a year through its medical research grants, grants for medical research on a specific theme and its annual awards.

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