Stroke cases on the rise, says expert

Medical Superintendent of Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad and Jamshoro, Dr Munir Ahmed Sheikh has said that disability and death due to stroke are on the rise in the country, however, the disease of stroke is treatable now as well as it is also possible to avoid its attack.

Now a stroke unit has been established in Hyderabad civil hospital under the supervision of Professor Dr Manzoor Ahmed Lakhir and Dr Abdul Hafeez Baghio and other expert doctors in the neuro-physician ward where the affected patients can be saved from the disability if the patient is rushed to the hospital immediately.

He expressed these views while talking to a team of civil society and welfare organisations. He was accompanied by AMS General Dr Mujibur Rehman Kalur, AMS Dr Muhammad Ali Qaimkhani, RMO General Dr Aftab Hussain Ful and other officers on this occasion.

Dr Munir said, it is necessary to bring the patient to the stroke unit before the stroke occurs. On the basis of which, the experienced neuro-physician can give immediate treatment using the latest techniques. They administer injections. The cost of this injection is Rs.0.1 million which is provided free of charge to the patients in the hospital with the support of the Health Department of the Government of Sindh which protects the patient from the effects of brain haemorrhage.

This stroke unit is a new initiative in making the hospital an state of the art health care provider.

He further said, one out of every four men and one out of every five women can get stroke while almost five per cent of the population is forced to live with stroke. More than one million people are living with disability in one way or the other.

He said that the symptoms of stroke include loss of sensation (numbness) in any part of the body, loss of ability to speak or not being able to understand things, difficulty in eating and drinking, disability in walking, blurred vision, etc.

He said that stroke is a disease that can paralyse any part of the body. Its attack proves fatal in some cases. Dr Munir Ahmed Sheikh said that in order to prevent stroke, it is necessary to control blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol and alcohol should be avoided, besides avoiding excessive use of poultry meat.

By taking precautionary measures, chances of deaths due to stroke and lifelong disability can be reduced.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2024.