The leading cause of death in Vietnam

Even young people, who appear healthy on the outside, can die without warning if they have this complication.

While at home, a 39-year-old male office worker in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City suddenly felt dizzy, unable to speak, and unable to control his right arm and leg.

Noticing strange signs, his family rushed him to the emergency room and found out he had suffered a stroke.

CT scan results showed that the patient had a large blood vessel blockage in the brain, so the doctor quickly intervened and removed the clot to clear the vessel.

A stroke can come suddenly, and may not have any warning signs.

After the procedure, the male patient gradually was able to talk and his arms and legs also began to move.

Another case is Ms. Sen (name changed, 47 years old, a trader in Ho Chi Minh City) who suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side.

According to her family, while she was out in Vung Tau, she drank with friends and then went to sleep. The next morning, when her family woke her up, they found her unconscious and rushed her to the emergency room.

The patient was diagnosed with a severe ischemic stroke due to a blockage of a large artery while sleeping, but because he was brought to the hospital more than 12 hours after the blockage, exceeding the "golden time" for stroke treatment, the treatment was almost ineffective.

The doctor said that after the CT scan, nearly half of the patient's brain was damaged, making it impossible for doctors to intervene to re-open the patient's blood vessels, but could only save his life and minimize the severity of the stroke.

For the rest of her life, Ms. Sen had to live in a wheelchair, her ability to communicate and her cognition were severely impaired.

How dangerous is a stroke?

According to Dr. Nguyen Ba Thang - Head of the Stroke Unit, Deputy Head of the Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City: stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident, is a very common and dangerous disease in modern society. According to the World Stroke Association, 1 in 6 people will have a stroke.

In Vietnam, every year 200,000 people suffer from stroke, the mortality rate due to stroke in men is 18% and in women is 23%. Stroke is the leading cause of death in our country.

Stroke spares no one.

Dr. Thang said that stroke can happen suddenly to anyone, regardless of age, gender, occupation, or health status.

A young person who appears to be very healthy and has no illness can have a stroke at any time, without any warning signs.

The consequences of a stroke are also very serious. The patient may be paralyzed on one side of the body, lose the ability to communicate, lose the ability to control urination, even fall into a deep coma and die.

There are many causes of stroke. The most common are high blood pressure which causes degeneration, blockage or rupture of cerebral blood vessels, atherosclerosis which causes narrowing and blockage of cerebral arteries, and atrial fibrillation which creates floating blood clots which block cerebral blood vessels.

In addition, people with diabetes, dyslipidemia, heart disease, coronary artery disease, leg atherosclerosis, obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, and drinking a lot of alcohol have a higher risk of stroke.

Although stroke causes serious consequences, it is completely possible to prevent the risk and minimize the consequences.

If a stroke patient receives timely emergency care during the "golden time", the chance of recovering to their previous quality of life is very high.

The golden time for emergency treatment for stroke patients is 6 hours from the onset of the disease, the first 3 hours can be considered the golden time.

Signs of a stroke may include a crooked mouth, slurred speech or inability to speak, or weakness in one arm or leg.

If stroke patients do not receive emergency care within the "golden time", the consequences will be very serious, including hemiplegia, deep coma, and even death.

To prevent the risk of stroke, people need to have a healthy lifestyle, not smoke, limit alcohol, increase physical activity and exercise, reduce salt intake, reduce fat, increase green vegetables and fruits.

In addition, patients also need regular health check-ups to detect risk diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, etc. for timely treatment.

People who have had a stroke also need to take medications to prevent and treat the underlying disease.

According to VNN