Interruption of blood supply to brain results in stroke and when blood vessels burst inside the brain, it is haemorrhagic stroke. In the forebrain of human brain there are estimated 22 billion neurons and after stroke 120 million neurons are lost every hour.
This was stated by renowned physician and Chief Executive Fatima Memorial Hospital, Professor Dr Humayun Maqsood while talking to Business Recorder, here on Saturday. Humayun Maqsood maintained that developing countries are heading towards a stroke epidemic due to unhealthy lifestyle adopted by the people of these countries.
According to him, in stroke management every minute matters. The incidence of stroke in Pakistan is estimated to be between 3-4/1000. There are very few regular stroke clinics. Stroke management is a teamwork, which includes neurologist, neurosurgeon, psychiatrist and social worker.
He maintained that increasing life span, urbanisation, fatty food are some of the risk factors of stroke. New risk factors include rheumatic heart disease, smoking and tuberculosis which all contribute to stroke. Homocystine, obesity and genetics are the new risk factors, he added.
He further said that looking into the brain is just like looking into the universe. More we see more we realise that we do not know anything. Lot of basic research is going on these days in this area. Regeneration power of tissue, he said, is very important, as response of different organs to regeneration could be different.
'Our primary responsibility should be to diagnose neurological diseases and then we have to treat these patients with limited therapeutic tools', he opined. When asked about the burden of stroke, Humayun said that it is the leading global health problem and still increasing.
It is the second most common cause of death and major disability. Interruption of blood supply to brain results in stroke and when blood vessels burst inside the brain, it is haemorrhagic stroke.
He also termed the stroke as 'silent killer' which is the second largest cause of disability in the country. He urged the government to establish an institute of neurology on the pattern of Punjab Institute of Cardiology to provide effective treatment facilities to stroke patients, apart from creating more awareness among the people about the disease.
To a query, he stated that stroke is caused by the blockade of blood vessels supplying the vital end organ the brain. He said that people suffering from ailments like high blood pressure and glucose were at a greater risk of stroke. Modern lifestyle and wrong dietary habits in the South Asian region were playing a major role in causing a stroke, he added.
He identified sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg especially on one side of the body, confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; trouble seeing with one or both eyes, troubles walking, dizziness, loss of balance or co-ordination and severe headache with no known cause as major warning signs of stroke.
He was of the view that many of the risk factors including blood pressure, tobacco, diabetes, high cholesterol, excessive use of alcohol and physical inactivity could be eliminated or at least controlled with healthy lifestyle.