Stroke Second Leading Cause Of Death Worldwide: Experts

KARACHI: The public awareness session of the National Conference for Stroke recently took place in Karachi, with speakers ranging from neurologists like Prof Dr Wassey Shakir, Dr Abdul Malik, Dr Arif Harikar, Dr Bashir Soomro, Dr Anjum Farooq and Dr Zahid Latif Sajid Jameel to media personnel including Senior Journalist Amir Ashraf, Hamid-ur-Rehman and others.

Stroke has become the second leading cause of death worldwide, and an average of 400 people are dying every day in Pakistan, which is a worrying situation. Around 0.4 million people suffer paralysis onset every year in Pakistan. High blood pressure, smoking and environmental pollution are widely considered the leading causes of stroke. The disease needs to be controlled at the national level through awareness, and practical steps need to be taken at the government level to control its rising rate.

Medical experts said that this year's World Stroke Day is titled "Minutes Can Save Lives." They said Pakistan is one of the countries where the rate of stroke is highest among people up to 45 years, while Pakistanis suffer from a stroke ten years earlier than the rest of the world. Impairment of ability, tilting of the face to one side, weakness or numbness of the leg, dizziness, staggering gait, sudden loss of vision, loss of memory, sudden sharp headache or fainting, etc.

To reduce the risk of stroke, control your blood pressure and sugar, reduce your blood fats, avoid large meats and fats in your diet, and walk for at least 15 days and 30 minutes a day to reduce your risk of stroke by 20%. It is a deadly disease, and its rate is increasing day by day. Even if someone has a stroke, he has to use tips instead of going to the doctor.  

Awareness efforts regarding the disease should be increased at the national level. At the government level, severe and concrete steps need to be taken to curb the rising rate of the disease. Unless there is public awareness about the disease, the disease will not be brought under control. If the disease is diagnosed in time, disability can be avoided.

At present, stroke has become the second leading cause of death in the world. First of all, we have to clear our confusion about this disease; only through awareness, this disease can be overcome.  

So far, there is no stroke unit in any public sector hospital, and the number of available neurologists can be counted in the single digits. The government does not think about this disease, and the public is not aware of it. The speakers emphasized how there should be talk shows about the disease, adding importance to the gravity of the situation.

The conference was attended by a large number of people from different walks of life. Shields were also given to social activists.