In 2010, Mrs Afolabi Adeleke, a lecturer suffered a stroke, that left her unable to speak for days. She could neither walk nor use her arms. The mother of three suddenly had to face the changes in her life....CONTINUE READING
Mrs Adeleke was unable to return to work after her ordeal, but made use of the little resources she had to create a support system for other stroke survivors in her area.
“To me, after this ordeal, stroke is everybody’s issue right now. It’s not only an issue for stroke survivors and their families – a stroke can attack anybody and it knows no age,” said Mrs Adeleke.
Unfortunately, Mrs Adeleke is one of the persons that had suffered stroke. In Nigeria, recent statistics collated from hospitals suggests that more than 160,000 Nigerians develop stroke yearly. This is aside those that herbalists, pastors; Imams and so-called traditional healers manage.
Currently, stroke is the single commonest disease that causes death at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. “On a daily basis at the emergency department, we see no less than two to three stroke cases every day,” said UCH’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Temitope Alonge.
A stroke happens when there is impairment in blood supply to the brain either as a result of blockage of one of the arteries or bleeding into or around the brain. And it can happen suddenly.
“People need to be able to recognise stroke. It has many possible symptoms depending on the part of the brain affected, but the most common symptoms are face drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulty,” said Dr Morenikeji Komolafe, a neurologist and member, Nigerian Stroke Organisation.
According to her, many people need to be mindful of any sudden weakness or numbness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body or sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding spoken words.
Sometimes, a sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes or a sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination may signal stroke. A sudden severe headache with no known cause can also be a red flag for stroke.
Dr Komolafe said that its high incidence in many developing countries, Nigeria inclusive was a reflection of an increase in the prevalence of the most important risk factors for stroke.
Risk factors for stroke include hypertension, obesity, diabetes and unhealthy life-style (e.g., physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol intake and smoking).
For example, individuals with hypertension are more than 15 times more likely to develop stroke compared with individuals without hypertension.
Paradoxically, individuals who are physically inactive irrespective of their body weight, people who eat red meat and take a lot of salt stand a higher risk of developing stroke. Older people also develop stroke more than younger people.
Although stroke can occur in any age group, she said the disease in Nigeria is becoming more prevalent in the younger age groups due to additional factors such as sickle cell disease, heart diseases, HIV and drug abuse.
The medical expert, however, said “the lifetime risk of stroke is approximately one in five for women and one in six for men. It is higher in women because of longer life expectancy.”
Stroke is highly fatal. It is also an emergency that require seeing an expert fast. Currently, Dr Komolafe declared that two out of every five patients with stroke in Nigeria die in the first 30 days and more afterwards.
This necessitates that all things possible must be done to prevent its occurrence at all levels- the individual, health care practitioners and government.
Paradoxically, myths and misconceptions on stroke abound in Nigeria. Since stroke occurs suddenly, a common misconception is that it is as a result of spiritual attack, witchcraft and this might delay the patient from getting to hospital on time.
For instance, “If stroke symptoms resolve after a few minutes, there is no need to seek medical attention. This is a misconception.
“A warning stroke known as a TIA lasts a short while and resolves completely. The risk of a subsequent stroke is high and thus a TIA requires urgent medical attention.”
In addition, that stroke cannot be treated or prevented, she said is untrue. According to her, “the theme for this year’s World Stroke Day ‘What’s your reason for Preventing Stroke’ emphasises stroke prevention. Ninety per cent of all strokes can be prevented its key risk factors namely hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity are treated.
“Strokes can also be prevented in children with sickle cell disease by doing a test called Transcranial Doppler which detects those at risk and these are offered specific preventive treatment.”
Treating stroke, she declared is possible. She stated: “If the patient comes to hospital and has brain imaging within less than four hours of stroke onset, clot bursting drugs can be given if it is a brain infarction.
“Timing is everything in stroke treatment. Time is brain, we always emphasis to reduce the amount of brain tissue that is lost as stroke. For example, a patient can lose 1.9million neurons each minute in which stroke is untreated.
“Stroke is, essentially, a sudden loss of blood supply to a part of the brain. The longer the affected individual delays before seeking intervention, the greater the part of the brain that dies and the more the consequent disability or risk of death.”
Dr Komolafe said “it starts with individuals finding out their stroke risk using an approved stroke risk assessment tool like the stroke riskometer, and then having their blood pressure checked.”
She added that everyone needs to also learn about stroke prevention steps and implement these positive lifestyle changes as well as reduce their exposure to air pollution to stay free of stroke.
Stroke prevention roles for government, she declared should include the implementation of population wide prevention strategies that address economic and environmental and other contributors to stroke.
Studies have also found increased intake of fruits and vegetables as protective of stroke. Also, researchers say that salty foods can increase an individual’s susceptibility to stroke.
Dr Komolafe explained: “Too much salt in body tissues hold extra water, causing the blood vessels to swell and subsequently overtime contribute to development of hypertension, an established risk factor for stroke.”
World Health Organisation recommends a salt intake at the population level of less than 5g/day which in practical terms means limiting the salt intake to one teaspoon per day…CONTINUE READING>>
