Rob Hart, from Edington, Wiltshire, is supporting a national stroke study being supported by the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Foundation Trust (RUH).

Mr Hart played as a placekicker for NFL teams including the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New Orleans Saints between 2002 and 2004, and was known for kicking barefoot.

He said: "I started feeling really dizzy and my eyesight started going too.

"Then my hand went completely numb.

"Fortunately, my wife was with me at the time and she thought it could be a stroke.

"She called NHS 111, who organised an ambulance straight away.

"It was a very scary time, not just for me but for my wife and children too, we just didn’t know what was happening."

He was taken to RUH, where doctors confirmed he had suffered a stroke on the right side of his brain, caused by a blood clot linked to heart palpitations.

Mr Hart said: "I’ve lost about 15 per cent of my sight in both eyes, otherwise I’ve been very lucky that there’s no other significant damage to my health.

"I could not have asked for better care.

"Everyone I came into contact with, from the ambulance team to the staff in the hospital, were wonderful.

"They were so supportive and reassuring, I really couldn’t have asked for more from anyone."

Following his stroke, Mr Hart joined the National Young Stroke Study.

Open to patients under 55, the study aims to identify risk factors behind the rising number of strokes in younger adults.

The number of new stroke cases in this age group has doubled in the past 10 years in the UK and other high-income countries.

Mr Hart said: "I was more than happy to take part.

"It was really straightforward and if it can in some way help raise awareness of potential new risk factors for strokes and how they can be prevented, then that can only be a good thing.

"I would encourage people to consider taking part in research studies like this – you really could make a vital difference to others in years to come."

The study is led by the University of Oxford in collaboration with hospital research teams across the UK.

RUH has supported more than 300 research studies in the past year, recruiting 4,800 participants.