Experts have raised the alarm over the increasing stroke risks due to current economic hardship, the high cost of medication, stress and other lifestyle factors.
Their warning came on the heels of another warning from the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) of an increase in the burden of stroke by 2050, a rise that could result in 9.7 million yearly deaths and a significant increase in those affected by stroke-related disabilities.
The WSO also stated that, beyond the “immense” human toll, stroke is projected to cost the global economy more than $1.6 trillion yearly by 2050.
An Associate Professor of Neurology, College of Health Science, University of Abuja and Head Neurology Unit, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Dr Gerald Onwuegbuzie, told The Guardian that patients with stroke can no longer access treatment due to the high cost of care.
Onwuegbuzie disclosed that health insurance does not cover brain scans, which poses a challenge in stroke management and treatment. “The reason we’re recording an increase in cases of stroke is because people cannot afford medication and drugs. We are in a dire situation; some anti-hypertensive drugs cost as much as 40,000 a month. So, we have to depend on some Chinese and Indian medicines that are of low quality.
‘Also, a CT scan that used to cost N25,000 is now N60,000.00 and our patients can’t undergo brain scan. In some cases, some medications are more than N140,000. What is driving the stroke increase now is the cost of care, economic hardship and stress,” he said.
He also observed that hypertension and diabetes are risk factors for stroke, stressing that smoking, high alcohol consumption, high cholesterol, and use of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and tramadol can also induce stroke, especially for the youth.
Onwuegbuzie decried the unavailability of functional scanning machines in most hospitals: “Many hospitals don’t have scan machines including the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada. These are challenges we see when managing our patients with stroke. We can’t investigate them partly because of costs, but also because the patients cannot afford it.”
According to him, the reduction of the incidence of stroke requires a multi-dimensional approach. “We can reduce stroke by 75 per cent and regulate risk factors. For instance, if a person is hypertensive or diabetic, he must take his drug.
“If someone is taking a lot of fatty foods, he must cut it down as cholesterol is a risk factor. There is also a need for lifestyle modification, exercise, salt reduction, non-drug use and low sugar intake as we advance in age. All these will help and don’t require any money.”
A Consultant Neurologist and Professor of Medicine at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Prof Chukwuemeka Ezeh, appealed to the government to subsidise stroke management and treatment, as well as ensure patients get adequate medication in the country.
Ezeh agreed that the present economic situation is not only increasing the risk of stroke but also making it more difficult for people with stroke to get adequate treatment, thereby compounding the problem.
He said: “The cost of managing someone that has acute stroke for one to two weeks that we normally keep on admission is now high. Our plea is to government, philanthropists and well-spirited individuals, to come on board and provide subsidy for stroke management.”
He said that sports can be used to reduce the burden of stroke as it involves an increase in physical activity, adding that physical exercise reduces the risk of stroke. “Regular exercise and adequate exercise can lead to loss of weight, of which overweight and obesity are all known risk factors of stroke. Also, regular sports help the heart to work optimally, and reduce blood pressure levels as hypertension and diabetes are risk factors for stroke.
“In sports activity, there are some hormones that are produced in the brain that increase the function of the brain. Even for people that have had a stroke, it will help them to recover faster because regular and adequate sports activity stimulates brain regeneration and influences regeneration of the brain cells.”
MEANWHILE, WSO president, Jeyaraj Pandian noted that there is a clear misperception of stroke as an unavoidable, age-related condition with limited treatment options, adding that evidence shows that stroke is increasingly affecting younger populations, with 80 per cent of all cases preventable.
He observed that the global burden of stroke has doubled, in the past three decades. Expanding access to acute treatments which only 5 per cent of eligible patients currently access can transform patient outcomes, while specialist rehabilitation can enhance recovery and social reintegration.
“Not only is stroke largely preventable, but it is also treatable and beatable,” he adds, “Around the world, we can see the huge gaps in stroke care at every stage in the patient care pathway. Each of these gaps represents an enormous potential for progress. Action on stroke is the key to accelerating progress on health and development goals,” said Sheila Martins of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil and co-chair of the coalition.”
