KUALA LUMPUR: Time is of the essence, more so when it comes to the treatment of stroke.
Medical experts have advised patients to seek immediate help at hospitals if they experience any of the symptoms related to stroke to ensure they recover as much and as fast as possible.
“Stroke is an emergency. Time is of the essence. So, if there are any symptoms, you have to go to any hospital with stroke facility services as quickly as possible,” said Subang Jaya Medical Centre consultant neurologist Dr Siva Seeta.
“Some patients think that because they only have one symptom and if they experience it at night, they can wait to get help the next morning. But every second, brain cells are dying.
“You have to go in as soon as possible. If you come on time, we have a treatment for that,” he added.
Patients can locate the nearest stroke facility at mystrokehospital.my.
Dr Siva summed up these symptoms with the “BEFAST” acronym, which stands for balancing difficulties like a spinning sensation or difficulty in walking steadily, eyesight changes like blurry or tunnel vision, face weaknesses like droopiness or numbness, arm weakness or numbness, and speech difficulties like slurring, or the inability to talk or comprehend.
Meanwhile, the “T” refers to the time for action to call for help or to rush patients to the hospital.
Dr Siva was a panellist at the Health and Nutrition webinar on “Uncovering Stroke Myths” along with Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara consultant neurologist Dr Tan Wee Yong. The session was moderated by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia neurologist Dr Wan Asyraf Wan Zaidi.
Stroke occurs due to a blockage in, narrowing of, or rupture of blood vessels to the brain.
According to Dr Tan, the most common cause of stroke in Malaysia is hypertension. He noted that 70% to 80% of stroke patients have an underlying hypertension problem.
The second most common cause is diabetes.
Other causes include lifestyle factors such as smoking, excessive alcohol intake, unhealthy diet, being overweight and a lack of exercise.
“But I think one medical condition commonly missed is atrial fibrillation.
“Atrial fibrillation can be translated as an irregular heartbeat which causes a blood clot in the heart that gets transferred to the brain and causes a stroke.
“Atrial fibrillation is also a silent disease. It has very mild symptoms like uneasiness and very little palpitation. All these may be overlooked,” said Dr Tan.
He added that stroke is an active and evolving process that may lead to a bigger stroke, hence the need to seek speedy treatment.
“We have to arrest the progression of stroke, and secondly, find out what exactly triggered the stroke and thirdly, treat the causes of stroke effectively.”
Dr Siva also highlighted a misconception that stroke is a disease of the elderly, adding that his youngest patient was an 18-year-old.
“Stroke can happen to anybody, depending on the risk factors we discussed earlier,” he said, noting that some young people may have underlying issues such as a hole in the heart or other connective tissue diseases that may lead to a stroke.Noting that there is concern that Covid-19 vaccination may cause stroke, Dr Siva said that is an extremely rare occurrence.
“It is not a stroke caused by a blockage of the arteries. What happened was the patient who had the vaccine had a blockage of the venous (veins) system.
“But we have to understand that we are giving vaccinations to millions of people. And it has been reported that one or four in a million (may experience it). It can happen, but don’t be alarmed. It is not common.
“Personally, I have seen two, but it is a treatable condition,” he said.
“Uncovering Stroke Myths” is brought to you by The Star in collaboration with Angels Initiative and the Malaysia Stroke Council.