On October 29, the World Stroke Day. Strokes occur when there is a interruption of blood flow in an area of the brain. They can be of two types: ischemic, produced by the obstruction of blood vessels, or hemorrhagic, caused by the rupture of arterial branches.
It has increased by 20% in recent years and another 20% increase is expected in the next 10 years, as Alberto Giménez Artés, president of Fundación Casaverde, points out. There are multiple risk factors that can cause a stroke, but except the aging that is inevitable, all the others are avoidable: obesity, smoking, arterial hypertension, cholesterol or stress. “They are risk factors that we can take care of and attend to”admits Alberto.
Avoidable factors account for 80% of cases. For this reason, the president of Fundación Casaverde recommends Take care of your diet, quit smoking, exercise and have regular check-ups to see if you have high blood pressure or cholesterol, and take preventative medications. He stress it also depends on yourself and the way you take things.
What signs alert that a stroke is being suffered?
There are different alarm signals with which the body can warn you that you are suffering from a stroke. The first hours are crucial to have as few sequels as possible. For this reason, Alberto Giménez warns that if they suffer a sudden loss of strength in the middle part of the body, they cannot walk well, lose the ability to speak or express yourself, a very intense headache with no apparent cause, dizzy feeling, loss of balance or sudden loss of vision should immediately call 112. It is also important to know the signs for identify if someone around us is suffering from it.
What is the Stroke Code and how is it activated?
If you think that you or someone around you may be suffering a stroke, the first thing you should do is call 112. The doctors will make a first evaluation and if they consider that there is a probability of having a stroke, the Stroke Code will be activated. .
“The Stroke Code it is a protocol that is activated in the health system of each autonomous community when a call is received saying that someone is suffering a stroke”, explains Alberto. Priority is given to the care and immediate transfer of the patient by the emergency medical services to a hospital that has a Stroke Unit Once the protocol is activated, the objective of the Stroke Code is that the time from the time the first symptoms are noticed until arrival at the hospital gate is less than two hours. Once in the hospital, the neurologist will examine the tests to determine if there are any obstructed passages in the brain or if there has been a rupture of a vessel. “With the exception of aging, the risk factors that cause a stroke are avoidable. If you notice any of the signs, you should immediately call 112”
But as the president of Fundación Casaverde recalls: “You don’t have to go to the hospital that is closest to home, you have to call 112 to be taken to the hospital that at that moment the Stroke Unit is activated”. In all cities there is always one on duty and they are prepared with advanced techniques to perform a thrombolysis or a thrombectomy. Thanks to this action protocol, mortality has decreased from 30% ago a few years to 10%.”This shows that, if we serve people within the first hours with non-invasive surgical techniquess, thrombi are eliminated”. The first success of the protocol since its implementation has been reduce mortality, although as Alberto Giménez points out, there is still a lot to be done.
“The factors are not being controlled, there is no health promotion policy, and for this reason, among other things, stroke is increasing by 20%”. In addition, in later phases, patients need follow-up and rehabilitation, and there is much work to be done in this area. If a person is attended to early and receives intensive rehabilitation, in 65% of cases they recover full independence and if they do not receive it, they can be left with these functional deficits for the rest of their lives. “60% of strokes need rehabilitation and if they received it, 60% would be at home”says Alberto Giménez Artés.