Deaths due to hemorrhagic stroke on the rise

KUALA LUMPUR: The rate of reported deaths due to haemorrhagic stroke in the country is rising with many patients dying before receiving treatment at hospitals.

Head and Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, Tunku Abdul Rahman Neuroscience Institute (IKTAR), Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Dr Azmi Alias said based on the statistics of the National Peri-Operative Mortality Review (POMR), haemorrhagic stroke was the cause behind the most deaths, surpassing deaths by brain damage since 2019, with cases being on the rise.

In general, there were two types of strokes; ischemic stroke (blocked or reduced blood flow to the brain) and haemorrhagic stroke (spontaneous bleeding in the brain).

"Ischemic stroke is more common, when the face is droops due to blocked blood supply, but sometimes patients can recover normally if the supply of blood to the brain returns within a short period of time.

"Haemorrhagic stroke is more deadly as it can happen in an instant due to the drastic rise in pressure in the brain that causes the individual to lose consciousness or leading to death," he told Bernama after the launch of a public awareness campaign in conjunction with the Five-Kilometre Haemorrhagic Stroke Brain Race Fun Run on June 11, which was also attended by Kuala Lumpur Hospital director-general Datuk Harikrishna K Ragavan Nair.

Dr Azmi explained that stroke causes sensitive brain cells to die in a matter of minutes and normal brain cells could only survive between five to ten minutes without a supply of adequate blood, nutrients and oxygen.

"About 30 to 35 per cent of deaths from 1,000 reported cases in hospitals in developed countries are due to stroke," he said, adding uncontrolled hypertension and aneurysms were major causes of haemorrhagic stroke.

"There are factors we can change and control to reduce the risk of strokes, including not smoking, not taking alcohol, and praticising a healthy diet.

"Stroke can be controlled and prevented at a certain level, but get immediate treatment if you suffer a stroke, know the initial symptoms and the doctor will determine if patients require early intervention," he said, adding that 70 per cent of patients who are treated managed to recover well.

-- BERNAMA