Daily Times

Karachi: Pakistan’s 5% population or 9 to 10 million people are suffering from stroke. Every year thousands of humans fall victims of stroke whose lives could be saved with better and authentic treatment, health experts said on Thursday.

These views were expressed by Professor Shaukat Ali Khan- Former President of Pakistan Society of Neurology, Professor Muhammad Wasay- President Neurology Awareness and Research Foundation (NARF) & Pakistan Stroke Society, Professor Khalid Sher- Head of Neurology Jinnah Hospital, Professor Arif Herekar- Head of Neurology Department of Baqai Medical University, Dr Ahmed Salman Ghori – President Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) Sindh, Dr Syed Tabassam Jafery- President Al-Khidmat Foundation Sindh, Dr Memona Siddiqui- Vice President Pakistan Stroke Society and Dr Abdul Malik- Assistant Professor Neurology, and General Secretary at a press conference held in connection with World Brain Day 2017.

World Brain Day is the initiative and product of international organization, World Federation of Neurology, being observed annually for creating awareness, prevention, treatment and research of cerebral diseases. This event is being observed in 119 countries including Pakistan every year. Four years back the federation decided to observe the day with the main purpose of creating awareness about the fatal disease at global scale. Member countries of federation observe July 22 as the world brain day.

Activities are also held in Pakistan to create awareness about the disease. This year’s main theme of World Brain Day is “Stroke” and the theme of the campaign is “Stroke is a brain attack:Prevent it-treat it”. In this connection countrywide stroke screening camps, awareness seminars, press conferences and awareness walks would be held.

During the briefing, experts informed that Pakistan is the six most populous country comprising 200 million individuals. The ratio of non-communicable diseases is 41 percent in Pakistan.

People in Pakistan held misperception for long that the stroke was incurable disease and patient was believed to suffered from this disease throughout his life, doctors said adding that “even today people are still firm believer as we keep the patient of stroke completely covered and hidden. Even after the stroke the people run for pigeons as they believe that the blood is the only remedy available to deal with this ailment”.

Health experts categorically said that prevention and treatment of stroke is possible and any other method employed as part of treatment is not the right way to deal with such patients.

They informed that in Pakistan with the coordination of Pakistan Stroke Society, Neurology Awareness Research Foundation and with the cooperation of AlKhidmat Foundation and PIMA efforts are being made to create utmost awareness about the stroke.

Experts said that anyone can suffer from “brain attack” as one in six people may suffer a stroke anywhere and anytime without gender discrimination, and only prevention steps could be taken to avoid the brain attack. Figures show that the women are more prone to the diseases than men, they added.

According to some research reports and analysis among the patients of stroke 63 percent suffer from different physical complications and around 89 percent are compelled completely or partially to depend on others.”The treatment is possible as around 50 percent people suffer from stroke due to blood pressure and smoking. If these two reasons are controlled than 50 percent disease would be curtailed”, they noted.

Only keeping blood pressure below 140/90 and avoiding smoking could help reduce the number of patients by 50 percent but unfortunately there is lack of awareness among masses and nothing is being done at the government level that is why the number of stroke patients is increasing everyday, they lamented.

They said that stroke units play vital role in minimizing the mortality and morbidity rate but unfortunately they are almost nonexistent in the country both at private and government level. Life Saving Clot Buster are available to only 0.01 percent of patients, they said.

The medicine which is given to the patient within the 4-6 hours of attack is not registered in Pakistan with Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. Besides the lack of required number of neurologists the patients are not timely diagnosed.

Government and the organizations active in health sector must take steps to create awareness including establishment of stroke units in hospitals so that the dream of healthy nation could be translated into reality, the health experts urged.

Published in Daily Times, July 21^st, 2017.