6 people under 45 hospitalized in one night due to stroke

Bach Mai Hospital is a tertiary medical facility, one of the largest stroke treatment centers in the country, mainly treating severe patients.

On March 29, Associate Professor, Dr. Mai Duy Ton, Director of the Stroke Center, said that last week, the center admitted 6 stroke patients under 45 years old in one night, the most in the past few years.

For example, a 32-year-old female patient from Hung Yen was brought in with complete paralysis of the left side of her body and slurred speech. She was diagnosed with acute cerebral infarction due to occlusion of the right internal carotid artery in the first hour. Within 35 minutes of admission, the patient was given thrombolytic drugs, after which her difficulty speaking was gone, but she still had mild weakness in the right side of her body, and continued to be monitored.

Having just finished the above case, the doctors received a 32-year-old male patient. While playing badminton with his friends, he suddenly became paralyzed on the left side of his body and had difficulty speaking. The patient was diagnosed with acute cerebral infarction in the first hour due to occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery and was prescribed thrombolytic drugs and revascularization. Thanks to arriving at the hospital early and receiving active revascularization treatment using the above two methods, the patient recovered almost completely.

Unlike the two cases above, the 40-year-old woman was transferred from the lower level in a deep coma and on a ventilator. She had a history of high blood pressure but did not take medication. While working the night shift, she suddenly had a headache and fell into a coma. The patient was diagnosed with a right thalamic-brainstem hemorrhage with a hematoma volume of 60 ml. With a deep coma, a dangerous bleeding location, the patient's prognosis was very serious, with a high risk of death.

According to Associate Professor Ton, the number of stroke patients admitted to the Center has increased over the years. In 2023, doctors received 13,228 people, an increase of more than 2,000 cases compared to the previous year, about 8% of whom were young people. About 20% of patients came to the hospital early, an increase compared to before but still very low compared to the world.

"When patients come to the hospital early, they are given intravenous thrombolysis or arterial thrombolysis, and recover quickly. However, many cases come late, making treatment difficult and leaving many sequelae," said Dr. Ton.

Stroke includes two types: cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage. Most strokes in young people are related to risk factors such as high blood pressure, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, unhealthy lifestyles such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, lack of physical activity... Strokes in young people are also due to congenital abnormalities such as cerebral vascular malformations that are present since childhood, until the time the aneurysms are large enough to cause rupture.

According to the World Stroke Organization 2022, each year there are more than 12.2 million new cases of stroke in the world, of which more than 16% occur in people aged 15-49. Of the 6.5 million deaths due to stroke, young people account for more than 6%. "This number is alarming, because young people are the main labor force of each family and society," said Dr. Ton.

According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has about 200,000 strokes each year, with a mortality rate of about 40%. In particular, the number of young people having strokes is on the rise. Young and middle-aged people account for about 30% of all stroke cases. According to hospital statistics, the rate of stroke in young people increases by about 2% each year, with men four times more than women.

Associate Professor, Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co, Director of Bach Mai Hospital, said that stroke patients need to be treated as quickly as possible, including diagnosis and emergency treatment, especially thrombolysis within the first 4-5 hours. At the same time, patients need to be treated with a combination of specialties such as diagnostic imaging for emergency endovascular intervention to remove blood clots, emergency neurosurgery for people with cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and large-scale infarction.

"Bach Mai is the final multi-specialty hospital in the North. When patients come to the hospital, when necessary, they will be coordinated between specialties for the fastest and most effective treatment," said Mr. Co.

Many people are lucky to survive a stroke, but suffer from severe sequelae, even losing the ability to work, creating a burden for their families and society. Therefore, Associate Professor Ton recommends that young people should regularly exercise, exercise, control their weight, give up smoking and unhealthy eating habits. Screen for stroke risk factors such as cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, blood fat, diabetes, etc.

When there are any symptoms of stroke (reduced vision, weak limbs, slurred speech/difficulty speaking, headache, dizziness...), the patient should be taken immediately to a stroke treatment unit for timely diagnosis and treatment.