Number of stroke patients rising, becoming younger: Experts

Health experts urge early prevention and standardized treatment of strokes as the disease spreads its tentacles and starts targeting younger population.

(From second left to right) Cao Lei, official of the stroke prevention and treatment commission of the Ministry of Health, Liu Jianmin, professor of Changhai Hospital in Shanghai, and Guan Sheng, professor of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. [Provided for chinadaily.com.cn]

According to Professor Liu Jianmin of Changhai Hospital based in Shanghai, the incidence of stroke recorded an 8.7 percent increase during the past years and more than 60 percent of the patients aged between 40-60 are high-risk group.

"Cerebral ischemic stroke accounts for 70 to 80 percent of the strokes," said Liu during a national cardiac and cerebral vessels disease forum in Beijing on Friday.

Cerebral ischemic stroke, known as cerebral infarction, is the symptom of brain tissue necrosis caused by brain blood supply arterial stenosis or obstruction.

"Most of the patients ignore the disease after they suffer minor symptoms such as numbness, aphasia, serene drop and fainting. By the time they seek medical help, the disease has become life-threatening," said Liu.

Cao Lei, an official of the stroke prevention and treatment commission of the Ministry of Health, said cardiac and cerebral vessels diseases have become major causes of deaths during the past 20 years in China and the government is establishing a system to improve early prevention and standardized and high-level stroke treatment center.

According to Cao, the conditions of more than five million high-risking stroke patients aged over 40 from nearly 400 areas across the country have been screened and diagnosed since 2011.

In addition to drug thrombolytic therapy as basic treatment, device thrombectomy is more effective and advanced therapy to raise cure rate, according to Professor Guan Sheng from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. "The life window is six hours after the stroke."

"The patients should know this before they are referred to hospital: Can the hospital do intravenous thrombolytic therapy as basic treatment and then device thrombectomy?

Cao said the commission is improving the prevention and treatment system by training the staff members of urgent care center.

"Some operator of the 120 call do not know how to instruct the help seekers over the phone and the ambulance staff are another important part in providing first aid to patents," said Cao.

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