Deaths from stroke around the world to rise by 50% – Report
The World Stroke Organisation has called on governments around the world to act decisively in dealing with the rise in stroke. They are asking governments and healthcare systems to implement recommendations on stroke prevention set out in the new WSO-Lancet Neurology Commission report.
The report which is based on a comprehensive review of survey data, guidelines and expert interviews, projects a 50 per cent rise in stroke that will claim 9.7 million lives a year by 2050.
“Over 90 per cent of stroke deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries,” the report said.
Last week the world celebrated ‘World Stroke Day’. The report notes that, driven by increased prevalence of stroke risk factors, including hypertension and diabetes among a younger population, the incidence of stroke is increasing in young and middle-aged people below 55 years, and it is contributing to global costs soaring to S$2.31 trillion by 2050.
“As for stroke mortality, the prevalence of stroke-related disability is also increasing at a faster pace in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries,” it added.
The President of the World Stroke Organisation (WSO), Prof Sheila Martins said: “The devastation caused by stroke deaths and disabilities is not inevitable. Stroke is highly preventable, with easily identifiable risk factors such as high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, smoking, physical inactivity, diabetes, high cholesterol, tobacco and alcohol use. These manageable risks account for around 90 per cent of all strokes.
There are clear and cost-effective recommendations and interventions that can be easily implemented, and that we know will save lives. WSO is committed to providing technical support to help governments develop and implement coherent national stroke surveillance and prevention strategies that can dramatically reduce the burden of stroke. It can be done, and the cost of inaction is simply too high to wait any longer. We need the world to act now,” she added.
Some studies say stroke is ranked as the second leading cause of death globally, with fifteen million people suffering from the disease annually, of whom five million are left permanently disabled, and 5.5 million deaths recorded annually worldwide.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that stroke occurs every five seconds worldwide, putting massive burdens on the community and family making the disease a major global health problem.
Stroke is prevalent in Ghana and affecting young people. But due to the low information on the condition, most stroke cases reportedly go to the hospitals late and there are also concerns about the lackadaisical attitudes of health officers and the lack of CT scan facilities across the country for early detection.
According to some media reports citing Ebenezer Adams, the Executive Director of the Stroke Association SupportNetwork-Ghana (SASNET-Ghana), a non-governmental organisation, stroke is the third leading cause of deaths in Ghana, and about 30 per cent of cases recorded annually in the country result in deaths.
He indicated that stroke-related deaths are mostly recorded among people below 50 years.
Adams also said Ghana records between 12,000 to 16,000 cases of stroke annually, with diabetes, hypertension, alcoholism and smoking being major contributory causes.
There is growing concern among health expects that stroke, a silent killer in Ghana, must be given more attention.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi
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