Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today Tuesday is World Stroke Day 2024. The World Stroke Organization celebrates this day every year on October 29 to raise awareness about stroke prevention and treatment worldwideWorld Stroke Day is being observed in Bangladesh like other countries of the world.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted for some reason. This blood supply to the brain is interrupted especially by blood vessel blockage or blood vessel rupture. Blood contains oxygen and nutrients. As a result brain tissues die due to lack of oxygen. The biggest cause of stroke is high blood pressure. Stroke is the third leading cause of death worldwide.

Every 26 seconds, one person suffers from a stroke in the whole world including Bangladesh. Stroke death rate is higher in Bangladesh than other countries of the world. If you want to prevent stroke, you need to know the symptoms. Because many people delay getting treatment even after having a stroke due to not knowing the symptoms. The symptoms are called FAST for short. Here F = Face = Contorted face, A = Arm = Weak or paralyzed arm, S = Speech = Slurred or stopped speaking and T = Time = Get to hospital as soon as possible. In this case, you have to find out in advance which hospital has good stroke treatmentStroke is the third leading cause of human death worldwide. There are two types of stroke. Bleeding in the brain due to occlusion of blood vessels and rupture of blood vessels. The symptoms of stroke are balance problems, slurred speech, sudden loss of vision, dizziness, unconsciousness, paralysis on one side of the body, etc. 50 percent of stroke patients are paralyzed and for a long time everyone thought that stroke only affects the elderly. of individuals. But that perception has now changed.

At the same time, death due to this disease has also increased. According to the World Health Organization, stroke ranks second only to heart disease in terms of mortality and is the leading cause of disability among non-communicable diseases worldwide. About one and a half million people suffer from stroke every year. Of whom nearly half a million die and nearly half a million are crippled for life. This data shows how deadly a stroke is. One in four people will have a stroke at some point in their life. The risk of stroke is much higher in low-income countries than in the developed world. This risk is constantly increasing. It is predicted that this could increase to 80 percent by 2050. About half of all people who have a stroke survive less than a year. Overall, about two-thirds of stroke patients were over the age of 65.

According to a survey, currently 11.39 people are affected by stroke per thousand in the country. There are about 2 million stroke patients in Bangladesh. The risk of stroke is 7 times higher in people over 60 years of age. Men are twice as likely to be affected than women. The prevalence of stroke is slightly higher in villages than in citiesThe number of deaths due to stroke is increasing in the country which can lead to life-long disability and even death of the patient. So far, modern stroke treatment has been largely capital-centric, but concerted efforts and public awareness are needed to bring marginalized populations under medical care.

> History of stroke:-

Descriptions of strokes and familial strokes date from the 2nd millennium BC to the ancient Mesopotamia and Persian civilizations. Hippocrates (460 to 370 BC) was the first to describe sudden paralysis. Paralysis is often associated with ischemia or blood clots. To describe this issue, Hippocrates used the Greek word apoplexy or monk's disease in his writings, which means "loss of consciousness and ability to move as a result of injury to the blood vessels of the brain." One of Hippocrates' sayings is that "an acute attack of apoplexy is impossible to cure, and a mild attack is curable.hard to do- Stroke was first used around 1599 as a synonym for apoplectic seizure or ascetic convulsion, and is a literal translation of the Greek term. Apoplectic stroke is an old, imprecise term used for hemorrhagic strokeMartin Luther is said to have suffered an apoplectic stroke shortly before his death in 1546 that robbed him of his ability to speak. In 1658, Johann Jacob Wepfer (1620–1695) identified the cause of hemorrhagic stroke in his apoplexy, when he stated that those who died of asceticism had hemorrhages in the brainWepfer identified the major arteries that supply blood to the brain, such as the vertebral and carotid arteries, and identified the cause of a type of blood clot stroke known as cerebral infarction. He said that apoplexy or sanyas disease can also result from blockage of those blood vesselsRudolf Firkho was the first to describe the mechanism of thromboembolism formation as a major factorThe term cerebrovascular accident was coined in 1927, reflecting "a growing awareness and acceptance of vascular theories and recognition of the consequences of sudden interruption of the blood supply to the brain".
Many neuroscience textbooks currently discourage the use of this term on the grounds that the connotative connotations of the term accident do not sufficiently emphasize the modifiability or modifiability of risk factorsThe term cerebrovascular insult can also be used instead.To describe the acute nature of stroke, the American Stroke Association coined the term brain attack, which was used until the 1990s and is now colloquially used to describe both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.

>Symptoms

1. Sudden inability to move half of the face when smiling.

2. Complete numbness of half of the face.

3. Making slurred noises while speaking.

4. Feeling of weakness in one of the arms.

5. Sudden shivering.

6. Blurred vision in one eye.

7. Feeling unable to walk.

8. Severe headache.

> Major causes of stroke and what to do

Among the non-communicable diseases worldwide, stroke ranks second only to heart disease in terms of death. Also, stroke is one of the major causes of disability. Day by day, the number of people affected by it is increasing. According to the World Health Organization, the risk of stroke in low-income countries is much higher than in the developed world.

According to a recent study, if the population of Bangladesh is 175 million, then 11 out of every 1000 people suffer from stroke.
And the biggest cause of it is high blood pressure.

> Some of the reasons that can cause stroke are:

- If the amount of cholesterol in the blood is higher than normal.
- If high blood pressure, diabetes is uncontrolled. If you have heart disease.
- If you have mental problems like stress, excess tension, depression.
- If you sit all day long, if you do not exercise, if you gain abnormal weight.
- Unhealthy uncontrolled eating habits. Eating fried foods and drinks, especially those with excess oil and sugar.
- Smoking, using tobacco or other drugs, drinking alcohol.
It is possible to completely overcome the risk of stroke by adopting a regular healthy lifestyle.

> Some home remedies to stay free from stroke:-
- Keeping high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol under control.
- Adhering to a nutritious diet avoiding excess oil-fat and sugar-salt foods, fried food, fast food.
- Avoid smoking, tobacco, drug consumption, alcohol consumption.
- 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep every day.
Exercise or regular physical activity. Maintain weight.
- Health check every six months.
> Homeo Remedies:-Samuel Hahnemann's method of treatment is called Homeopathy. Any drug that causes symptoms in a healthy person can cure a patient with acute symptoms. That is, through the disease-causing power of the medicine lies the healing power. Samuel Hahnemann thought so and invented homeopathy. And the efficacy of homeopathic medicine in stroke has been proved beyond doubt since ancient times. Among the medicines used in stroke, Arnica mont, Gelsium, Causticum, Acid hydrocyanic, Hyosium, Lacases, Lycopodium, Opium and many other medicines can help with the symptoms. .

> Stroke prevention

High blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol should be controlled to prevent stroke. Lifestyle changes should be made, alcohol and smoking should be avoided. If someone is taking birth control pills, it should be stopped. Do not eat excess salt with rice. Walk 20 to 30 minutes daily and keep weight under control. In addition, people who have had a stroke or transient ischemic attack are at a higher risk of another stroke.
> Finally, to stay free from stroke, you should do regular exercise, morning and afternoon walks and avoid a lazy lifestyle. Try to be free from anxiety or tension. Regular religious practice plays a helpful role in this regard. And stroke is definitely a preventable disease. Once infected, treatment is very complex, expensive and difficult. The affected patient himself becomes mentally and physically disturbed, often becoming a burden to the family. Prevention is therefore the best. Concerted initiative and public awareness are needed to bring marginalized people under medical care.

The writer is a, Founder and Chairman,Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society