Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program: BE FAST

May is Stroke Awareness Month

Drawing of a person walking a dog with the text: You can reduce your risk of stroke.

In Wisconsin, about 11,000 people experience a stroke and 2,700 Wisconsinites die from a stroke each year. Stroke can have devastating consequences not just for the person experiencing it–but for their family, friends, and co-workers who may all be impacted.

The good news? Strokes are largely preventable. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services offers campaigns to educate people on how to reduce their stroke risk, identify if someone is having a stroke, and actions to take in the event of a stroke.

BE FAST Bella materials teach people on the signs of stroke and encourage people to call 911 in the event of a stroke.

Risk Factor Rick materials focus on physical activity, monitoring blood pressure, reducing alcohol intake, quitting commercial tobacco use, and eating healthy foods.

You can play a critical role in raising awareness about identifying signs of a stroke and about stroke risk factors to your residents. By helping everyone know more about stroke, we can encourage Wisconsinites to be aware and take actions to reduce their stroke risk.

Join us in promoting stroke awareness this May using the social media toolkit and downloadable files for promotional posters, bookmarks, activity sheets, and more.


Social media

Follow these steps to share stroke awareness messages through your social media channels.

  1. Click the link to download an image. These images are sized to work on most popular social media platforms.
  2. Right click to save the image on your computer.
  3. Prepare your post text and link (See our sample language for ideas).
  4. Add the hashtag #strokeawareness2025.
  5. Complete (or schedule) the post in your usual manner.

Coverdell materials

Share stroke risk factor and BE FAST messages with posters, bookmarks, wallet cards, and more.
Community organizations, hospitals, EMS (emergency medical service) providers, and other patient care areas may download the PDF files, add their logo (optional), and print. Materials are organized by language (English, Spanish, Hmong, Russian, and Somali.

Production-ready artwork for promotional materials

Is your organization working on a stroke risk management or stroke awareness campaign? Download and use these branded PDF files to produce ad campaigns or ad specialty items.


Logo for the Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program

Stroke prevention

Most strokes can be prevented. Encouraging people to make healthy lifestyle choices, like quitting smoking and helping them control any current health conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes can help reduce their risk of stroke. Read more from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) at Prevent Stroke: What Can You Do. Other risk factors of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) include:

  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • High cholesterol
  • Heart disease
  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Carotid stenosis
  • Smoking
  • Inactivity
  • Heavy alcohol use
  • Stroke in the family

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) runs active programs to help people prevent and understand conditions like Prediabetes and Heart Disease. We offer resources to help communities in their efforts to address Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity and opportunities to learn more about commercial tobacco from the DHS Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.

Signs and symptoms of a stroke

It is important to recognize the signs and symptoms of a stroke. The BE FAST acronym can help people learn the six most common signs of stroke and the importance of calling 911 for timely care.

Balance – sudden loss of coordination or balance
Eyes – sudden change in vision

Face – sudden weakness on one side of the face or facial droop
Arm – sudden arm or leg weakness or numbness
Speech – sudden slurred speech, trouble speaking, trouble understanding speech
Terrible Headache – sudden onset of a terrible headache

Types of stroke

TIA

A TIA is a warning of an impending stroke.

It happens when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked for a brief period of time, causing stroke symptoms that recover quickly, usually within one hour.

Symptoms that last longer may be a stroke, even if they resolve.

Ischemic

Ischemic strokes account for about 87% of all strokes (American Stroke Association). It happens when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. There are two types of ischemic stroke:

  • Thrombotic strokes which are caused by a clot that forms in an artery that supplies blood to your brain.
  • Embolic strokes happen when a clot forms somewhere else in your body and moves through the blood vessels to the brain.

Hemorrhagic

Hemorrhagic strokes account for about 13% of all strokes. It happens when a blood vessel ruptures causing bleeding in the brain. These are subdivided into two groups:

  • Intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH) are caused by the brain tissue bleeding.
  • Subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAH) usually happen when a blood vessel bursts in the brain (aneurysm). A sudden, terrible headache is the main symptom of this type of hemorrhagic stroke.

Post-stroke care

Recovery after a stroke looks and takes a different amount of time for everyone. Stroke rehabilitation can ease the transition home from the hospital and can help prevent a second stroke.

Stroke rehabilitation can include working with cognitive behavioral, occupational, physical, and speech therapy.

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps individuals identify and change thought patterns that have a negative influence on their behavior and emotions. CBT can help people cope with anxiety, frustration, anger, and depression after a stroke.
  • Occupational therapy helps individuals improve skills related to daily life so they can live as independently as possible.
  • Physical therapy helps individuals regain or improve physical abilities using exercises and equipment.
  • Speech therapy involves personalized care plans to improve communication after a stroke.

Support within the community is extremely beneficial after a stroke. This includes accessing community-based resources and supports. Find a stroke support group near you with American Heart Association's Stroke Support Group Finder.

Community stroke education

BE FAST Bella

The Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program created BE FAST Bella to promote stroke awareness. BE FAST Bella can help people learn the signs of a stroke through recognition of the BE FAST acronym representing the six most common signs of stroke.

The phrase also teaches people to act quickly. They should call 911 right away if they see signs of a stroke in themselves or others.

Use our helpful BE FAST Bella materials with your community education efforts.

Quick stroke recognition is the first step to ensure timely medical care.

Be Fast Know the Signs of a Stroke Poster

Risk Factor Rick

The Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program created Risk Factor Rick to promote awareness of risk factors of stroke. Risk Factor Rick can help people understand risk factors of stroke and what they can do to reduce their risk. The goal of these materials is ultimately to help prevent stroke.

We offer materials that show Rick demonstrating various risk factors of a stroke and ways to reduce these risks.

Use our helpful Risk Factor Rick materials with your community education efforts to help prevent stroke in your community.

Image with unhealthy habits and three images of person with healthier habits (checking blood pressure, exercising, and calling the Wisconsin Quit Line to stop smoking commercial tobacco)

Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program success stories

The Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program highlights the great work of community, EMS, and hospital partners across the state in stroke care.

Want to be featured as the next Coverdell success story? Contact Kyleen Maccoux at Kyleen.Maccoux@dhs.wisconsin.gov about highlighting your organization's achievements in stroke care including quality improvement projects, best practice, or partnerships.

Resources

Use any of these resources to promote stroke awareness in your own way:

Contact us

Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program
DHSCoverdellStroke@dhs.wisconsin.gov

Last revised May 15, 2025