Stroke does not spare anyone, including children

Associate Professor, Dr. Mai Duy Ton, Director of the Stroke Center, Bach Mai Hospital, said: The center has treated many young stroke patients, including children under 15 years old. For example, in the case of a 9-year-old patient who was at school, he suddenly felt weak and numb on the left side of his body and was taken to the provincial hospital for emergency treatment. Computed tomography results did not detect damage, but magnetic resonance imaging results detected cerebral infarction.

Another case, a 12-year-old girl in Phu Tho, was brought to the hospital late, after 12 hours because of unclear symptoms. The patient suddenly had blurred vision, was taken to the Center, and was diagnosed with an arteriovenous aneurysm.

According to Associate Professor Ton, among hospitalized stroke patients, about 10% are young people (under 45 years old), due to cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral vascular obstruction. In this group of patients, most young people subjectively do not think about stroke but think about other diseases, so it is easy to miss the early stages of the disease.

There are 2 types of stroke in young people, including: Hemorrhagic stroke, accounting for about 15% of stroke cases, occurs because the artery wall hardens and creates cracks and ruptures, thereby causing blood to leak. flows outside. Stroke caused by cerebral hemorrhage is especially dangerous, with a high death rate. Stroke related to ischemic stroke: This type of stroke is more common, accounting for 85% of stroke cases. The cause of stroke in this young person is a blood clot that hinders or blocks blood flow to the brain to nourish brain cells.

In addition, there is also a case of transient ischemic stroke, also known as TIA, which is a condition in which the brain artery is blocked but then circulates on its own (progressing within 1 hour).

Previously, stroke cases often only occurred in middle-aged and elderly people (over 65 years old), now strokes are becoming more and more common among young people.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, in Vietnam, the proportion of young and middle-aged people with stroke accounts for ⅓ of the total stroke cases. The stroke rate in young people is also increasing at 2% each year, with four times more men than women.

It can be seen that although the risk of stroke increases as we get older, this does not mean that young people are not at risk of stroke. Anyone, young or old, can have a stroke at any time.

Stroke is the leading common cause of disability and the third most common cause of death in Vietnam. Every year there are about 200,000 cases of stroke, about 50% of which are fatal. Although many people are lucky to survive a stroke, they still suffer severe sequelae, even losing the ability to work, creating a burden on their families and society.

Dr. Ton affirmed: "To treat stroke and ischemic stroke, it is necessary to detect the disease early and intervene promptly to be able to save the patient's life. In children, stroke and ischemic stroke cause a very high risk of death, but knowledge about this disease is limited, which can easily lead to misdiagnosis with other diseases, delaying treatment. ”.

Stroke prevention is a huge and difficult challenge. The general recommendation for golden time in stroke is 6 hours. Therefore, stroke patients should be treated as soon as possible.

To prevent stroke, according to Dr. Ton, the most important thing is to maintain a scientific lifestyle: limit staying up late, try to get enough sleep, avoid short sleep or lack of sleep; Get reasonable rest and avoid prolonged stress; Build a reasonable nutritional diet, eat lots of vegetables and fruits, do not use foods high in oil, cholesterol and fat; Control your weight well because studies have shown that people with a BMI > 30 and a waist circumference over 80cm have a much higher risk of stroke than normal people; Avoid drinking wine, beer, alcoholic beverages, and carbonated drinks; Do not use stimulants; Regularly exercise, participate in physical activities, avoid sitting in one place for too long; Examination, treatment, and effective control of related diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes...