Sharon Stone is proud to have overcome being "destitute" and struggling to walk and talk after a stroke

Speaking as she hosted the American Heart Association (AHA) Red Dress Collection Concert, she told People magazine: "I walked out of that hospital, 18% of my body mass gone, dragging my right foot, unable to write my own name.

"[Now] I'm right here hosting this ball on two feet in five-inch heels, and I can do it, and I made it, and you can too."

"I want to say to people, 'You can do it.' And I want them to look at me and know, [I had] a husband that was divorcing me, with everybody fighting to take everything, with the bank, who had taken $18 million all my life savings. I had nothing. I had no money. No career.

"I was destitute with a 1% chance of surviving."

The 'Basic Instinct' star hit out at the lack of aftercare she received at the time and admitted she worries rehabilitation programs are even worse now.

She said: "When it happened to me, there wasn't a program that would help me walk again. There wasn't a program that would stop my stuttering.

"There wasn't any aftercare, and certainly, insurance companies are us f****** us right and left, and there wasn't any insurance to help me. There wasn't anything. And I'm sure that there's probably even less now."

The 'Casino' actress claimed she was left "alone for three days" lying on the floor when she first fell ill so urged people to be aware of stroke symptoms and to trust their instincts.

She said: "If your face starts to fall in any way or has numbness, if your arm feels strange or numb in any way, if your speech is weird, or you say something and it's not what you were trying to say, or your speech is slurred - you have no time, call an ambulance.

"Don't ask your friends. Don't ask your husband or someone else, 'What do you think I should do?' 911, no questions asked.

"I called people. They hung up on me, left me on the floor, didn't help me. I was alone for three days on the floor.

"Get an ambulance and get to the hospital. Walk into oncoming traffic and wave your arms. Do not hesitate."