heartandstroke.caFAST Signs of Stroke (Heart & Stroke Canada)
Also: VITE (Quebec) · Heart and Stroke Foundation FAST campaign
Heart & Stroke's stroke awareness campaign, announced 3 December 2014, teaching the FAST signs (Face, Arms, Speech, Time to call 9-1-1), in French as VITE. A TV spot aired first in Ontario, part-funded by the provincial health ministry, with social media and donor outreach.
- Years
- 2014–now
- Country
- Canada
- Topic
- CardiovascularStroke
- Asks people to
- RecognizeSeek help
- Strategy
- Coined termSimple instruction
- Channel
- Social (organic)TV
- Audience
- AdultsGeneral public
Evidence
ProcessUnknown
In four Quebec surveys (2016-2019, n = 2,451) knowledge of FAST signs improved 26% between first and last waves (OR 1.26), yet 30.5% still could not name a single sign; men, retired people and lower-income groups knew less (Rioux et al. 2022). Heart & Stroke's own polling: Canadians able to name at least two FAST signs rose from about 2 in 10 to over 4 in 10 over almost a decade (2024 release). Call-to-911 behaviour not measured.
Sponsor (who paid)
- Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada NGO, creator
- Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care State local government, part-funder of the TV spot
Credits (who made it)
Not recorded yet.
Related campaigns
- Stroke Foundation FAST campaigns 2004–now
- Act FAST 2009–now
- Stroke Awareness (Spot a Stroke F.A.S.T.) 2013–now
- Swedish National Stroke Campaign (AKUT) 2011–2013
Sources
- Rioux B et al. The Impact of Stroke Public Awareness Campaigns Differs Between Sociodemographic Groups. Can J Neurol Sci 2022;49:231-238 evaluation · 2022 · DOI 10.1017/cjn.2021.76 · PMID 33875043
- Awareness of FAST stroke signs has doubled in almost a decade in Canada (Heart & Stroke, 3 June 2024) sponsor · 2024
- Heart and Stroke Foundation FAST campaign press release, 3 Dec 2014 (republished by Central LHIN healthline) sponsor · 2014
Research notes
Launch details from the 3 Dec 2014 Heart and Stroke press release as republished by centralhealthline.ca (fetched): TV spot from late December 2014, Ontario first, part-funded by Ontario MOHLTC, plus social media and donor communication; national TV expansion depended on other funders. An Ogilvy Toronto interactive video (strategyonline.ca) was seen only in search results, so no credit recorded. Expansion of VITE letters seen in search results only. Rioux 2022 is from a Quebec stroke research group and measures knowledge, not behaviour.
Record cases/ca-heart-and-stroke-fast.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign