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Alastair Stewart has been praised by charities\u00a0for \u2018encouraging\u2019 others after revealing his dementia diagnosis.<\/p>\n
The former\u00a0ITV\u00a0newsreader, 71, said that this setback in his health was why he had chosen to\u00a0retire from regular broadcasting\u00a0back in March.<\/p>\n
Stewart is battling early onset vascular dementia, which he shared in an interview on Sunday morning with Camilla Tominey.<\/p>\n
He explained that he had decided to visit his GP about six to nine months ago after he began to feel \u2018a bit discombobulated\u2019.<\/p>\n
According to the NHS, the common condition is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, which has symptoms including slowness of thought and problems with concentration.<\/p>\n
The journalist and broadcaster also shared how the diagnosis has impacted on his day-to-day life, admitting that he\u2019s writing down a lot more notes now and that his \u2018very short-term memory is tricky\u2019, alongside his motor skills.<\/p>\n
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Victoria Lyons, Dementia UK\u2019s Senior Consultant told Metro.co.uk<\/strong>: \u2018We\u2019re sorry to hear that Alastair Stewart has been diagnosed with dementia, and hope that he and his family are receiving the support and assistance they need at this time.<\/p>\n \u2018By choosing to speak publicly about his diagnosis, Alastair will raise vital awareness of dementia and we hope that this will encourage others to seek advice if they have concerns for their brain health.\u2019<\/p>\n Kate Lee, CEO of Alzheimer\u2019s Society, added: \u2018We are so sorry to hear that Alastair Stewart has been diagnosed with dementia and our thoughts are with him and his family.<\/p>\n \u2018Speaking so candidly about his symptoms and subsequent diagnosis will really help increase public understanding of dementia \u2013 a condition that one in three people born in the UK today will go on to develop.<\/p>\n \u2018Dementia devastates lives, but we need to get everyone talking about it because a problem of this scale won\u2019t go away on its own.\u2019<\/p>\n She concluded: \u2018Receiving a diagnosis can be frightening, but we believe it\u2019s better to know. We\u2019re so grateful to Alastair for encouraging people worried about potential symptoms to seek advice. Our website\u00a0alzheimers.org.uk\u00a0has plenty of resources, including a downloadable symptoms checklist that people can take with them to their GP.\u2019<\/p>\n The journalist and broadcaster also shared how the diagnosis has impacted on his day-to-day life, admitting that he\u2019s writing down a lot more notes now and that his \u2018very short-term memory is tricky\u2019, alongside his motor skills.<\/p>\n He revealed that the \u2018most difficult [thing] to deal with\u2019, however, has been the impact it has had on his wife Sally.<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019ve been married for nearly half a century, and, you know, your life partner, your lover, all of those descriptions that are personal and intimate, that person is reduced \u2013 I choose my words very carefully \u2013 almost to a carer,\u2019 he shared.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/metro-parent\/img\/fallback.png\")
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