5 things about stroke you need to know now

by Hamzah Omar Yaacob

HOW much do you know about strokes? Who’s at risk, and what you can do to prevent them? Here are five things about this medical condition you should know about right now:

1. Not all strokes are the same

All strokes are the same, right? No. While a stroke in general has to do with brain cells dying because oxygen supply is cut off, this can occur in two ways: Ischaemic strokes due to blood clots in the brain’s blood vessels, or hemorrhagic strokes – which is when blood vessels in the brain burst causing bleeding.

According to the latest available data from the Singapore Stroke Registry, ischaemic strokes accounted for over 80 per cent of stroke cases in 2013. Hemmorhagic strokes, though much rarer, accounted for 45.8 per cent of deaths caused by strokes. The type of stroke Mr Heng suffered hasn’t been reported but statements from the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that he had experienced bleeding in his brain, which could point to a hemmorhagic stroke.

2. One of its symptoms is “the worst headache of your life”

Popping a Panadol might help with normal headaches, but it won’t do anything if it’s a stroke-related headache. SingHealth lists “the worst headache of your life” as a stroke symptom on its website. So if you have a headache from hell, consulting a doctor is a very good idea. Especially if you have conditions placing you at a higher risk of stroke, including high blood pressure, diabetes, or an irregular heartbeat.

Other symptoms include giddiness or feeling weak on one side of your arms or legs. The full list from SingHealth is available here.

3. 1/3 of stroke patients recover fully…

We know the word “stroke” sounds like an awful thing. But a third of all stroke patients do eventually recover fully, according to SingHealth. The other two thirds do not recover fully – with half being partially paralysed or having some form of disability, and the other never recovering. Also, about 90 per cent of patients survive the first 30 days after the stroke.

4. …But a lot of people do die from them

According to Ministry of Health figures, stroke is the third-leading cause of death in Singapore, after heart disease and pneumonia. A total of 692 hospital deaths occurred among stroke patients admitted to public hospitals in 2013.

5. Work and stroke are related

Working more than eight hours a day could raise your risk of stroke by 33 per cent. This was the finding of the largest survey to date on the issue – published last year in UK medical journal The Lancet. The study involved more than 6 million men and women from Europe, Australia, and the UK. Back home, Singaporeans on average worked an average of nine hours of paid work a week, according to Ministry of Manpower data.

Featured image All Too Familiar by Flickr user Tim Samoff. (CC BY-ND 2.0)

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- Hamzah Omar Yaacob