•Fed Govt urged to declare disease an emergency
Specialists in cardiovascular medicine have raised the alarm on the rising cases of stroke, a disease that affects the brain.
They met in Lagos on July 22 to fashion a way forward for better treatment of the disease.
The event was the Cardiovascular Summit 8.0, organised by the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer with the theme: ‘’Stroke.’’
Consultant Physician and Professor of Medicine and Immunology at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Geoffrey Onyemelukwe, said the disease must be detected and treated early to prevent deaths.
He attributed the high incidence of stroke to the lifestyle of people, adding that this contributed, in no small measure, to the disease burden.
Onyemelukwe said many stroke’s risks factors are playing underground because people are unaware of them, adding: “Everybody must be awakened to know that something bad is happening. Awareness must be created. People are dying in the cities and villages, and are attributing it to nebulous causes. This is usually the thinking when they are being hit in the head. Many died from the disease thinking it was another thing.”
Stroke, he said, is in the country, therefore, everybody should wake up to the reality.
Moreover, the disease has been identified as the second largest cause of cardiovascular deaths across the world, particularly in the middle and low income countries, in which Nigeria belongs.
People, he said, should know their blood pressure (BP) numbers because it is the leading risk factor.
“Many young people are dying because of raised BP. This is cause by their running around and the stress of living.
“The young and the old are having raised blood pressure. This situation is across board. People between 17 and 70 years are now developing blood pressure. Also, young people, nowadays, die of blood pressure,” he said.
He continued: “This is why doctors, healthcare providers and nurses should measure BP of patients with mercury device as the electronic machines can sometimes be deceptive. BP should be measured while sitting and standing to know the actual level.”
Onyemelukwe identified obesity, especially that of the abdomen, as another major risk factor of stroke, adding that most people now have protruded tummy, a precursor to several diseases.
“Some fat cells are stored in the abdomen. When an animal is killed, you see a lot of fat. Those fat cells are affecting a lot of hormones. Some hormones are responsible for raising blood pressure, insulin resistance, and hypertension. This makes them useless fats,” he said.
People, he said, should embrace balanced diet, stressing that food should be taken in moderation.
“Too much intake of pounded yam, cow skin (ponmo), alcohol, soft drinks or kunu, will make the tummy potrude because it has stored too much of carbonhydrate,” he said.
“Besides, protruded stomach is not a sign of affluence; rather it is a sign of ill health. The second big factor is excessive weight which people are grappling with,” he noted.
He said people should rest because they need peace of mind, adding that many are presently under stress.
This, he said, shows that high BP is a major risk factor, saying that conducive environment should be created for people to relax because ‘the country needs rest’.
He identified blood lipid as the fourth factor that must be addressed.
“Lipids are fat in the blood. These fats usually float in the blood. When they are high they get oxidised and blood vessels would pick and bury them in the blood vessel.
The blood vessels always pick them all over the body, especially from the heart and brain, which result in heart attack and even attacks the brain, thereby starving it of oxygen.
His recommendations are that exercise should be encouraged in schools, especially across primary and secondary schools and university.
He said cardiovascular risk factors in Middle East and Africa are many and people are not aware of them.
Moreover, some people have two risk factors while others present with three or four.
“This is dangerous. People should know their BP status and lipid profile and activity level the way they identify their ages,” he said.
Emeritus Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, United States, David Walters said people should know their numbers, that is, the high blood pressure (HBP) also known as hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol.
He said Nigerians are stressed out, adding that this may be one reason people come down with stroke.
He said 65 percent of people who have stroke have a hypertension, adding that they do not feel bad until they come down with a stroke, a disease that can be prevented.
“It is a shame to have young people who are relatively projective suffering from stroke,” he said.
Walters said sitting in traffic all day can trigger a stroke.
A Professor of Medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Adesola Ogunniyi, said no fewer than six million people die yearly from stroke.
He said stroke was first reported in Nigeria in 1961, adding it responsible for 15 percent of neurological admission in hospital.
“Hospital data, at University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, showed that stroke is the leading cause of admission,” he said.
Smoking, diabetes, obesity and abdominal obesity are factors.
He said stroke will increase as people age and population increases. “Stroke is a major diseases burden in Nigeria and it will continue as the population age,” he added.
Prevention strategies, he said, are health education and awareness.
