Vietnamese people are among the group with the highest risk of stroke in the world.

200,000 strokes per year

The above information was shared by Associate Professor, Doctor, Physician Nguyen Huy Thang, Vice President of the Vietnam Stroke Association, Head of the Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, People's Hospital 115 (Ho Chi Minh City) along with an image of the world stroke map.

Accordingly, our country is among the countries with the highest risk of stroke in the world, with an estimated rate of over 218/100,000 people. With a population of nearly 100 million, Vietnam has over 200,000 stroke cases each year. However, the number of stroke units is so small that it is "very alarming".

According to Dr. Thang, the first stroke unit in Vietnam began operating in 2005, at People's Hospital 115 (HCMC). To date, the country has 110 stroke units/centers.

However, most of these units are concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. As a result, many patients from the provinces have to spend several hours to reach the nearest stroke center.

Dr. Thang calculated that currently, each stroke unit in Vietnam must be in charge of over 2,000 patients/year. Meanwhile, the number in the US is 300 patients/unit, the recommended number in ideal conditions is 500 patients/stroke unit.

“That means we will need 400 stroke units in the coming years. Or at least, about 200 units to reach the number of 1,000 patients/year/stroke unit,” Dr. Thang shared.

The establishment of stroke units with specially trained personnel is considered the strategy that brings the greatest community benefit in many countries. In particular, with the need for treatment as soon as possible during the "golden time" windows, the number of stroke treatment facilities needs to expand geographically, so that patients can arrive at the hospital within 60 minutes of symptom onset.

Preventing "death disease in the 4.0 era"

According to the Ministry of Health, in recent years, Vietnam, as well as other countries around the world, have faced a dual risk of disease, including emerging infectious diseases as well as endemic diseases and the increase of non-communicable diseases.

Scientific reports show that the mortality rate due to non-communicable diseases accounts for 74% of all deaths. This is a very large number in the context of increasingly developing socio-economic conditions and science and technology.

Currently, there are two main groups of risk factors for stroke: modifiable factors (smoking, alcoholism, obesity, atrial fibrillation, etc.) and non-modifiable factors (age, gender, genetics).

According to Dr. Thang, to detect a stroke, one can recognize and handle it through the phrase: "Distorted smile, slurred speech, limp arm - Call an ambulance, go now, don't wait", or signs abbreviated in the word FAST.

Many stroke patients, after being treated well, stop seeing a doctor, stop taking medication, or buy their own medicine according to the old prescription. This affects the effectiveness of treatment.

To prevent stroke recurrence, patients need to remember: increase exercise, lose weight to prevent obesity, do not eat too much fat, sweets, sugar, flour, salt, eat lots of vegetables and fruits, treat high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, treat high blood cholesterol, quit smoking, stop drinking alcohol,...

In addition to these factors, doctors will also take note of the stroke screening results to control the three major causes of stroke in patients: atherosclerosis, atrial fibrillation, and small vessel disease.

According to Vietnamnet