Over 8,000 people are admitted to hospital annually suffering from acute strokes with a mortality rate of 20 per cent according to Dr Bernard Walsh from St James's Hospital in Dublin.
Dr Walsh was speaking at the launch of Stroke Awareness Day by the International Stroke Society.
Strokes are the second most common form of death in the world after heart disease and are predicted to be the greatest disabler of people worldwide by 2025.
"Globally statistics are alarming, 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke annually. Of these, 5 million die and 5 million suffer long lasting disability," Dr Walsh said.
The Stroke Awareness Day aims to help people better understand what stroke is and how to identify the most common signs.
A leaflet entitled Strokes Act Fast. Could You?has been distributed to GPs throughout the country. It looks at who is at risk from stroke and highlights the fact that most factors for stroke can be controlled.
"Many strokes can be avoided by lifestyle changes including stopping smoking, ensuring that ones blood pressure is controlled and monitored, regular active exercise, eating a healthy balanced diet, preferably rich in fruit and vegetables and if a serum cholesterol is found to be elevated, having it treated," Dr Walsh said.
Meanwhile, the Food Safety Promotion Board today launched a campaign outlining the need to reduce salt intake.
High dietary salt intake is associated with high blood pressure, which in turn causes heart disease and stroke.
"If salt intake was reduced by half a teaspoon (3 grams) per day, approximately 1400 deaths could be prevented each year from stroke and heart disease on the island of Ireland", Dr Vincent Maher, Medical Director, Irish Heart Foundation said.