1/3 of stroke patients die within the year

Every year, stroke affects five out of a thousand Filipinos. Of that number, one-third will recover while one-third will be permanently disabled and die within the year.

This was revealed by Dr. Jose Navarro of the Philippine Neurological Association (PNA) at the launch of Otsuka (Philippines) Pharmaceutical Inc.’s (OPPI) i-Stroke (Information on Stroke Issues, Prevention, and Treatment) campaign during the 29th annual PNA convention in Cagayan de Oro City.

As its name implies, i-Stroke will provide stroke patients, their families, and people at risk for stroke with life-saving information that will hopefully reduce the number of deaths associated with the condition.

Patients can call the i-Stroke hotline at 811-4723 for GMA and 1- 800-1888-4723 for provincial calls where they will be referred to a neurologist within their area.

Upon enrollment at the i-Stroke Club, patients can avail themselves of medicines from participating drugstores at huge discounts. This is aimed at preventing the recurrence of another stroke that can be fatal.

Navarro said the campaign is timely, considering the lack of information about stroke, the high cost of medicines, and the shortage of doctors who can help patients.

“This is an important campaign since the public is hungry for information about stroke. Secondly, the health cost of stroke is huge. By reducing the cost of medicines, we can hopefully reduce the high recurrence rate of 50 percent depending on the patient’s risk factors,” Navarro said.

These risk factors are a family history of stroke, age, sex (women are more likely to die of stroke than men), high blood cholesterol levels, cigarette smoking, diabetes, obesity, the use of birth control pills, hormone therapy, heavy drinking, the use of illicit drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine HCl, and uncontrolled stress.

Navarro’s sentiments were echoed by Dr. Annabelle Lao of San Pedro Hospital in Davao City who said that stroke can be a burden to the patient and his family.

“While a third of stroke patients will eventually recover, another one-third will be paralyzed. You have to take care of them — they can’t work, eat or bathe by themselves. Without the proper care and the right medicines, these patients will die.”

Adding to the problem is the fact that there aren’t enough doctors to attend to the needs of stroke patients. PNA vice president Dr. Johnny Lokin said the country only has about 300 neurologists or one for every 300,000 patients.

“Only 32 neurologists graduate every year. We are a new specialty and few people want to become neurologists. We need the I-Stroke campaign to make people aware about stroke and let them know that neurologists can help them. We have to educate patients about the risks involved, the need for medication that is free from side effects, and what they can do after a stroke. This will also encourage more doctors to become neurologists,” he said.

An important strategy in stroke prevention is a change of lifestyle, according to Lao. This means stop smoking, drink alcohol moderately, exercise regularly, keep blood pressure and cholesterol level under control, and learn to manage stress. To treat stroke and prevent another attack, your doctor may prescribe anti-platelet agents like cilostazol.