Stroke patients are increasing and getting younger

TRICHARDT – Management of Mediclinic Highveld wants to create awareness about strokes and encouraged the community to act sooner rather than later when they suspect their loved ones are having a stroke.

Ms Sphiwe Mahlalela, patient experience manager at Mediclinic Highveld, said they have seen many patients who have had strokes and gone to hospital too late.

According to medical personnel at the hospital, if a patient is taken to hospital immediately after having a stroke, there is specific medicine available that could prevent further negative impacts on the patients due to the stroke.

However, if the patient is taken to hospital long after the stroke, this medicine will not have the same effect and therefore cannot be given.

“When you experience chest pain, everyone knows it can be a heart attack and brings the patient to hospital.

“The same procedure should be followed with a stroke, which is actually a brain attack,” said a local doctor.

If patients who have had a stroke are taken to hospital, a scan can be done immediately to determine if the medicine can be given and what treatment to follow.

“Not every stroke patient is a candidate to receive this specific medicine,” said a nurse.

“We noticed that strokes occur more among younger people as well.

“Time is of the essence and every minute counts.

“A stroke is not an old man’s disease anymore.”

Ms Mahlalela said the FAST-test can be done to determine whether someone had a stroke.

This test consists of four things to look out for.

These things are face (can the person still smile and show you their teeth or does one side of the face droop), arm weakness (can the person close his/her eyes and hold their arms out for 10 seconds or does one arm drift down), speech difficulty (is the person’s speech slurred and are wrong words used or is the person unable to speak) and time (take the person to hospital immediately).

Some of the stroke risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, arterial fibrillation, obesity, too much alcohol, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet.

According to Ms Mahlalela, it is common knowledge that moderate daily exercise of sessions of 30 minutes can lower the risk of getting a stroke.

She also said statistics show that one out of every three people in South Africa experience high blood pressure.

It also shows that 50 per cent of people in South Africa are overweight.

A local dietician said five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, a healthy diet of less bad fats and more good fats and by checking your blood pressure often can minimise the chances of getting a stroke.

Ms Mahlalela said, according to statistics in South Africa, 80 per cent of strokes noted could have been prevented.

She said the choice of a healthier lifestyle is in each person’s own hands.

Mediclinic Highveld is listed as a stroke ready hospital.

This means that the staff in the emergency unit and other nursing staff are trained to specifically take care of patients with symptoms of a stroke.

A specific procedure to confirm whether it is a stroke or not is followed.

If needed, a scan will be done and then the treatment process will follow.

Mediclinic Highveld is linked to other Mediclinic hospitals that can provide more advanced cardio care if it is necessary.

The staff at Mediclinic Highveld emphasized that the FAST check can be done by anybody and if it is observed in any person, that person should be taken to hospital immediately.