In summer, the weather changes suddenly and becomes hot, this is one of the reasons why the number of people having a stroke tends to increase.
Who is at high risk of stroke?
Anyone is at risk of having a stroke. Experts also note that infants and children under 4 years old, the elderly 65 years and older, people with chronic diseases such as heart, lung, kidney, high blood pressure, diabetes, mental illness, people who drink too much alcohol and people who don’t drink enough water… are susceptible to heat stroke. The elderly and children are vulnerable because this group of subjects adapts to temperature rise more slowly than others.
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However, it is not difficult to recognize the signs of a stroke. It is a feeling of numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg (symptoms usually occur on one side of the body, for example, weakness in the left arm and leg); Sudden inability to speak, voice change (slurred speech, difficulty hearing) or patient (patient) slurred speech, meaningless, unable to understand speech; Sudden loss of vision, especially when symptoms appear in one eye; Sudden severe headache; dizziness, loss of balance or inability to perform desired movements (especially accompanied by dizziness).
According to TS.BS Mai Duy Ton, A9 Emergency Department – Bach Mai Hospital, when seeing a loved one with the above symptoms, the family needs to quickly take the patient to the nearest medical facility with expertise in treatment. stroke. At the same time, the patient’s family also needs to know some first-aid operations for the patient. For example: put the patient to rest, it is best to put the patient on his side to prevent vomiting, avoid aspiration in the lungs.
Dr. Ton advises that the patient should not take any medicine because sometimes the patient can choke and cause acute respiratory failure. Note that folk remedies should not be used to give first aid to patients such as: blowing the wind or pricking the tips of fingers and toes, or giving some medicines of unknown origin. It is important to quickly call an ambulance to bring the patient to the hospital.
Reduce the risk of recurrence
According to statistics, the rate of stroke recurrence in the first 5 years is 25%, which means that for every 100 patients who survive a stroke, there will be 25 cases of recurrence afterwards. To reduce the rate of stroke recurrence, patients need to take the medicine exactly as prescribed by the doctor and go for regular check-ups. No one can guarantee that a stroke will not happen again, but the chance of recurrence can be minimized with appropriate, ongoing, and long-term treatment.
There are many ways to reduce the risk of stroke recurrence: good control of risk factors and lifestyle changes. The most important risk factors for stroke are high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and smoking. High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for stroke. If blood pressure is not well controlled, the risk of recurrent stroke will be very high. Controlling blood pressure includes eating a low-salt diet, losing weight, reducing stress, and taking appropriate medications. If high blood pressure is well controlled, it will reduce the risk of stroke by 38% and the risk of death from stroke by 40%.
The second most important risk factor after high blood pressure is heart disease. The most dangerous heart condition associated with stroke is atrial fibrillation. Long-term anticoagulation can reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation by 67%. Next is people with diabetes, when patients have diabetes, the risk of stroke will increase 3 times. A suitable diet to control blood sugar levels, and the use of blood sugar-regulating drugs can help patients minimize the complications of diabetes.
Good control of blood cholesterol levels, stopping smoking, not using birth control pills containing high estrogen content, while reducing stress, maintaining a reasonable diet and exercising regularly can also help reduce the risk of stroke.