- 80 percent of all strokes occur among residents of developing countries – WHO
By Hassan John
The Federal Government of Nigeria has been advised to equip and recruit the needed manpower in the country tertiary hospitals so that they can tackle cases of stroke.
Professor Kolawole Wahab of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ilorin, gave the advice in a lecture on Friday.
He called for, what he described as, aggressive surveillance and monitoring of stroke patients in hospital to prevent complications.
He expressed concern that cases of stroke have become very rampant in Nigeria and the world at large leading to the untimely death of many people.
He revealed that 12.2 million people globally have been diagnosed to experience a stroke in 2023.
According to him, out of the total number of those affected by stroke this year, 6.5million people will not survive the attacks.
While calling on the federal government to act fast and save the situation, Prof. Wahab revealed that stroke is a major cause of death and disability globally, stressing that the situation in Nigeria is not different.
The expert revealed that 80 percent of all stroke have been projected by the World Health Organization (WHO) to occur among residents of developing countries.
This, he reiterated, is due to the adoption of Western lifestyle.
On his part, while responding to questions from our Correspondent, an Abuja based medical doctor, Dr. James Abdul, regretted that most people develop complications and die needlessly without even knowing the cause due to negligence.
He advised Nigerians to visit the hospital regularly for medical checks and most importantly, if the feel any abnormality.
While noting that even though there are other factors that cause stroke, he advised for regular check of blood pressure and taking the needed medication if the blood pressure is seen to be high.
Responding to a question on how to prevent stroke, Dr. Abdul said: “Stroke prevention is a crucial part of health maintenance for everyone.”
He noted that prevention is focused on treating and controlling risk factors, advising those smoking to stop, take medication to lower blood pressure if you have high blood pressure (hypertension), maintain optimal blood sugar if you have diabetes, manage high cholesterol and fat levels with diet, and medication as needed, get treatment for heart disease, such as heart rhythm abnormalities, heart failure, or coronary artery disease and maintain treatment for chronic inflammatory conditions.
