The Thurgoona resident, 47, had been fit and healthy and was managing the Katies clothing store in Centro Albury.

During a shift in August last year, she had tried to stand and felt the left side of her body dragging.

Her face dropped and started to tingle and her speech became slurred.

Her daughter Brooke, who worked nearby, came to the store and instantly recognised she was having a stroke.

Mrs Armstrong was rushed to hospital for treatment and given drugs to reduce blood clots and minimise the damage.

Yet the mother-of-three said her life was still being significantly affected more than 12 months later.

She suffers from anxiety, panic attacks and depression and has been unable to work since the incident.

“Mentally, it’s had a huge impact,” she said.

“Your whole life is turned upside down and so many things change.

“I’ve given up work, and I can’t even walk back into the place where I had the stroke.

“It’s such a traumatic event that occurred.”

Mrs Armstrong is part of a new National Stroke Foundation campaign called Know Your Numbers, which urges people to monitor their blood pressure — a key stroke indicator.

“I think it’s essential,” she said of the campaign.

“Before I had the stroke I didn’t think about blood pressure.

“You don’t think it will happen to you.

“It’s important to get the message out there for people not to be complacent.”

Pharmacies in the Albury region are offering free blood pressure checks as part of the campaign during Dec-ember.

For further information visit strokefoundation.com.au/kynpharmacyfinder.