Stroke: You may be next... it's the nation’s No. 4 killer disease

NST: PETALING JAYA: At least six Malaysians are hospitalised with stroke every hour.
But the news gets grimmer. There was a 300 per cent increase in the number of people with stroke between 2005 and last year.
In 2005, 17,909 were admitted to government hospitals. Last year, the figure rose to 52,000.
But what worries Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek most is the fact that many victims die within a month with only 10 per cent fully recovering.
"The number of Malaysians suffering from stroke is increasing rapidly and this is worrying," he said at the launch of the National Stroke Association of Malaysia’s (Nasam) stroke book Understanding Stroke at Nasam House yesterday.
Stroke is the fourth largest killer of Malaysians. The other killer diseases are heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
"It is becoming common because of our ageing population and our unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Hypertension is another factor."
He said hypertension, a predominant risk factor for stroke, was becoming more prevalent among Malaysians.
"Some 30 per cent of the adult population suffer hypertension and this is a frightening figure," said Dr Chua, adding that other risk factors that led to stroke were heart disease, high cholesterol level, diabetes, smoking, alcohol, obesity and physical inactivity.
In Malaysia, stroke hits the health budget in the form of long and costly rehabilitation process. Stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain cells bursts or is blocked.
More than 10,000 people in Malaysia die each year from diseases linked to hypertension, such as stroke, heart attack and renal failure, including 6,000 deaths due to coronary heart disease.
Three million suffer from high cholesterol while another 2.1 million have diabetes. Malaysia also has the highest number of overweight and obese people in Asia with 25 per cent of the population falling into this grouping.
"The risk factors for stroke can be reduced if Malaysians consumed healthy food, quit smoking and exercised."
The other factors which increase the risks of stroke were age (older people), gender (men) and hereditary.
Dr Chua said two-thirds of Malaysians suffered haemorrhagic stroke with the rest falling victim to ischaemic stroke.
Haemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in or around the brain bursts and bleeds, while ischaemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery serving the brain, disrupting blood supply.
Dr Chua said the most efficient way to prevent stroke was to educate the public on the disease, its causes, signs and symptoms.
He said the ministry had lined up a number of strategies under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to reduce stroke cases.
One measure was health promotion activities through the newly-established Health Promotion Board.
"The government has allocated RM37 million for the board to provide funding and capacity-building to health-related NGOs and health associations, so that they can act as catalysts to promote healthy living."
Dr Chua, who is Nasam patron, pledged RM100,000 to boost its educational activities and programmes.
Nasam has six centres nationwide providing rehabilitation services, including speech, physical, occupational and recreational therapies and group activities to 300 victims daily.