Two years ago, Mr Mak had a stroke while dining at a Chinese restaurant. The 70-year-old's right arm and leg suddenly went numb, and he found it difficult to speak. His family rushed him to hospital.
Two hours and 50 minutes after the attack, he was injected with a blood clot dissolving agent that helped remove the blockage in one of the arteries on the left side of his brain. He recovered the next day and did not suffer any serious complications.
Mak is one of the few lucky stroke victims for whom prompt treatment averted devastating complications such as damaged brain cells, disability and even death.
Doctors say only 10 per cent of stroke victims receive treatment within three hours of an attack. Prompt treatment can reduce the risk of disability and death by 50 per cent. The failure of the majority to do so results from a lack of knowledge of stroke symptoms, says Dr Yannie Soo Oi-yan, a specialist in neurology at Prince of Wales Hospital.
To raise awareness of strokes and the importance of prompt treatment, a group of doctors and academics set up the Hong Kong Stroke Fund just over a week ago.
'Less than 3 per cent of the stroke patients in our hospital get treatment within the three golden hours,' Soo says.