JEDDAH, 5 November 2003 — “Stroke is far and away the problem resulting in the greatest morbidity of neurovascular diseases in our population,” said Dr. John Girvin, head of the Department of Neurosciences and consultant neurosurgeon at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH) in Jeddah.
At the first International Symposium on Advances in Management of Neurovascular Disease organized by KFSH recently, Dr. Girvin was among the presenters who spoke on the importance of understanding these disorders.
“We as neurosurgeons are very interested in certain problems. Our big problem is in getting rehabilitation, the last part of the treatment of stroke, to get it in some sort of regime where we get a good flow from the time of treatment until rehabilitation,” he said.
“People still lack awareness of coming to hospital with the first indication of symptoms, particularly in managing acute stroke where the first six hours are critical,” said Dr. Shireen Qureshi, consultant neurologist at ARAMCO who was at the symposium.
Treatment for a stroke includes getting the patient to hospital within the first hour. “When people come late, the chance of recovery decreases, depending on the strength of the stroke,” said Dr. Ahmed Hasan, consultant neurologist and head of stroke service at KFSH in Jeddah.
“Not only this but when they come to hospital, they should not have to wait to see a doctor or have blood test or x-rays; everything should be done within an hour and a decision made about whether or not to give medication. For this you need a well- organized team with everybody knowing exactly what to do without being told. This includes the ER, neurologists, radiologists, ICU, nurses, technicians and everybody,” he told Arab News.
Dr. Hasan spoke of the media’s role in education and raising public awareness. “The media must help to raise awareness of symptoms such as weakness in one side, unsteady gaze or inability to speak. Anyone with these symptoms should go to hospital for an examination,” he said.
“Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the first among disabling diseases. The economic burdens of dealing with disabled stroke patients are huge,” he pointed out.
