RIYADH, 17 May 2006 — Saudi Arabia has been asked by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to prepare a draft proposal for a GCC-level committee to check the growing incidence of stroke and hypertension. The move is primarily intended to fight stroke which is now the third leading cause of death and a major source of disability in the world, said Dr. Tawfik ibn Ahmed Khoja, director general of the GCC Health Ministers’ Council.
Dr. Khoja was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a symposium organized by Saudi Advisory Group Against Stroke (SAGAS). The symposium was also addressed by distinguished speakers and Saudi officials including Dr. Othman Al-Rabeeah, deputy minister of health, and Dr. Waleed Khoja, SAGAS chief.
Referring to the proposal, Dr. Khoja said that the draft plan would be prepared by SAGAS and it should be submitted to the GCC health council by the Saudi Ministry of Health. This committee, he said, would develop and unify guidelines and protocols for stroke prevention in the Gulf states. This will also help to increase awareness of preventable risk factors, improve quality of services and share studies and research.
The estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke in 2006 will be $57.9 billion in the US alone. The speakers also told the symposium that people must take certain measures to avoid stroke. A person with invisible symptoms should go for regular screenings for high blood pressure (at least every two years in adults and more frequently in the elderly).
