by Lovely A. Carillo
The rich and the poor are like heaven and earth. And as poet Rudyard Kipling said “Ne’er the twain shall meet.’
However, Kipling’s words are proven wrong when it comes to stroke, a cardiovascular system disorder which occurs when there is an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain.
“Walang pinipili ang stroke—mahirap man o mayaman pwede kang magkaroon ng ganitong health problem (stroke does not distinguish between the rich and the poor because no matter your economic status, you can have this health problem),” said Dr. Melanie Herrera of the Stroke Society of the Philippines or SSP.
Researchers from the Department of Neurology of Singapore’s Tan Toc Seng Hospital found out that stroke is a major health problem not only in developed countries, but is also one of the top four leading causes of death in the Asean countries.
American Heart Association data indicates that someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds. In Davao City, Councilor Rene Elias Lopez said stroke is now the top cause of morbidity in the city, with 1,800 people dying from the disease in 2008.
Dr. Antonio Dans of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, a member of a Multisectoral Task Force who did a research on National Nutrition Health Survey for 2003, said cardiovascular disease is responsible for at least 76 of every 100,000 deaths yearly. He added that out of every five Filipinos, one has at least one of the risk factors for the disease.
Among the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease include, diabetes, abnormal cholesterol and lipid profiles and hypertension. Researchers found there was an increase in the incidence of these risk factors among Filipinos who have been classified as generally unfit.
The Task Force conducted a survey on the lifestyle, medical history and dietary intake of about 2,636 households in 79 provinces in the Philippines. The survey shows that 17.4 percent of Filipinos are hypertensive, or an equivalent of 7.76 million Filipinos classified as hypertensive in 2003.
The same survey shows that the obesity rate has increased from 20 percent in 1998 to 24 percent in 2003.
Economic effects
PGH cardiologist Dr. Rody Sy said the prevalence of hypertension in the country could mean an annual spending of P14.2 billion, granting that every hypertensive patient took an anti-hypertensive medication worth P5 per day.
The high prevalence of Filipino smokers, which is about 34.8 percent of the total population that year, has also become a cause of worry for doctors. Dr. Dans, who said that smoking is already a very important risk factor, pondered on how Filipino doctors spend little time in addressing the smoking problem while spending so much time treating hypertension.
“While hypertension, heart disease and prior history of transient ischemic attack have been identified as the main risk factors for stroke, there are modifiable risk factors like lifestyle and environment,” Herrera said. She said lifestyle changes can be made to avoid stroke like quitting smoking and drinking.
Both the rich and poor can get a stroke, she said. The only difference is that maybe, the poor patients will have less access to medication and good healthcare, she added.
Symptoms and what to do
“The symptoms of stroke can be very subtle like a severe headache or weakening in one extremity,” she said. A person who experiences these symptoms should immediately have his blood pressure checked.
Herrera said a person with high BP should immediately go to a hospital even before a vein has ruptured in his brain. She said the location of the stroke will actually determine the extent of the disability suffered by the patient.
But there is life after a stroke, she said, provided the patient goes into rehabilitation and is religious in taking his medication.
SSP aims to create awareness on stroke and its risk factors and as part of the 11th Stroke Convention of the Philippines which will be held at the Marco polo Hotel on August 18 to 20, SSP has scheduled a pre-convention workshop on August 18. Among the topics for the workshop are Stroke Prevention in the Community, Nursing Care in Stroke Workshop, Emergency Medical Services in Acute Stroke and Applying Current Neuroplasticity Principles into a Task and Content Specific Exercise Program.
