According to data from the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), 12.2 million people in the world will suffer a stroke in 2022 and 6.5 million will die. In addition, it is estimated that more than 110 million people who have survived a stroke live with disabilities.
The data handled by the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) emphasize that stroke is the leading cause of disability, the second cause of death and the second cause in the adult population. Likewise, alert that this year, throughout the world, 12.2 million people will suffer a stroke, and more than half, 6.5 million, will die for this disease.
In parallel, the data from the SEN also show that, In Spain, some 110,000 people suffer a stroke every yearof which at least 15% die and, among the survivors, around 30% remain in a situation of functional dependency. Furthermore, this disease is leading cause of death in womenthe second in men and the first cause of disability in both men and women: More than 350,000 people present some limitation in their functional capacity as a consequence of the stroke.
In Spain only half of the population knows how to recognize the symptoms of stroke
In this context, Dr. Castilian SeaCoordinator of the Study Group of Cerebrovascular Diseases of the Spanish Society of Neurologyexplain what “Stroke occurs as a consequence of the alteration of the blood flow that reaches the brain. In more than 80% of cases, the cause is the obstruction of one of the vessels that supply blood to the brain, generally due to a clot: this is called ischemic stroke. But it can also be caused by a break in one of these vessels: it is what we call hemorrhagic stroke”.
This expert adds that “regardless of the type of stroke that is suffered, we will always be talking about a medical emergencybecause the longer an area of our brain goes without blood flow, the greater the consequences.”
Stroke: a time-dependent disease
And it is that he it is a medical emergency because it is a time-dependent diseaseis that the earlier its detectionaccess to testing and treatment, the greater the chance of surviving this disease and greater also that of overcoming it without important sequelae. However, despite the fact that it is estimated that 1 in 4 people in adulthood will suffer a stroke throughout their lives, in Spain only 50% of the population would know how to recognize the symptoms of this disease, which are:
- Sudden loss of strength or sensation in a part of the body.
- It generally affects one half of the body and manifests itself mainly on the face and/or extremities.
- Abrupt alteration in language, with difficulties to speak or understand.
- Sudden change in vision, such as loss of vision in one eye, double vision, or loss of vision on one side of our
Visual field. - Sudden loss of coordination or balance.
- Very intense headache and different from other headaches
usual.
Regarding the symptom chart, Dr. Castellanos warns that “the Stroke symptoms usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly and, although patients usually experience several of these symptoms, just identifying one of them is reason enough to call 112. Even if the symptoms disappear after a few minutes, you have to go to the ER”. And he adds that you have to “try increase the knowledge that the population has about their symptomsbecause reacting in time is essential to survive or not suffer a disability from this disease”.
Risk factors for suffering a stroke
Just as it is important recognize the symptomsso is the prevention of this disease. Although the incidence of strokes increases significantly with age (more than 60% of cases occur in people under 70 years of age and 16% in people under 50 years of age) other factors also play a role.
In particular, the most important risk factor for the occurrence of stroke is the high blood pressure. But also others such as smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, atrial fibrillation, elevated blood lipid levels, diabetes mellitus, genetics, stress, etc. Most of these factors are modifiable. It is estimated that only adequately controlling the modifiable risk factors could prevent up to 90% of stroke cases.
The Coordinator of the Study Group of Cerebrovascular Diseases of the explain what “the prevention is very importantnot only because it is something that is in our hands, but because if we do not do it, we estimate thatn the next decade there will be a 34% increase in the number of strokesa 45% increase in deaths from stroke and a 25% increase in the number of stroke survivors with disabilities in Europe”. In this regard, he states that “Plans such as the European Action Plan against Stroke, to which the Ministry of Health and the SEN have recently adhered, also help to curb this disease.”
The pEuropean Stroke Action Plan by 20230 it contemplates the following objectives:
- That the number of cases of this disease in Europe be reduced by at least 10%.
- That 90% or more of all patients with this disease in Europe are treated in Stroke Unitsas the first level of care.
- That there be national stroke plans that cover the entire
care chain, from primary prevention to after suffering it. - That national public health strategies be implemented, promoting and facilitating a healthy lifestyle, and reducing the
environmental, socio-economic and educational factors that increase the
stroke risk.