On November 22, Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Huy Thang, Head of the Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, People’s Hospital 115 – Vice President of the Vietnam Stroke Association, said that at the end of the year, starting from around November-December to early next year, the number of stroke cases due to cerebral hemorrhage admitted to emergency rooms increased by about 10-20%. Although the symptoms of patients with cerebral hemorrhage stroke are similar to those of cerebral infarction stroke , the condition will be more severe, with a higher risk of death.
“This increase repeats every year and the common characteristics of the patients are mostly men, drink alcohol, have a history of very high blood pressure but do not take medication, often drink alcohol… admitted to the emergency room due to cerebral hemorrhage. This is considered the most severe form of stroke, with a mortality rate of up to 50%,” Dr. Thang shared.
Weather factors “trigger” stroke
Dr. Thang said that according to medical literature, some weather situations can affect the risk of stroke. Weather that is too cold, too hot,especially when combined with humid climates can be considered “trigger” factors for stroke.
The weather is too hot and humid, the body loses a lot of water, it will easily create blood clots in the blood vessels (especially the venous system). The risk is higher when we are exposed to direct sunlight for a long time, or when the body temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius.
On the contrary, when the weather is too cold, we often do not drink enough water, which causes the body to become dehydrated, which can also lead to the formation of blood clots.
“In addition, weather that is too cold or hot can cause excessive dilation of the vascular system, increasing blood pressure and increasing heart activity. It will be more serious for elderly patients with underlying diseases such as high blood pressure , but not well controlled,” Dr. Thang analyzed.
During the change of seasons, blood pressure tends to increase.
According to Dr. Thang, many studies have shown that the times of weather change during the year are considered risk factors for stroke. The reason is that the body has not yet adapted to the change in temperature. During the change of seasons, blood pressure levels often fluctuate and tend to increase, especially in elderly hypertensive patients who do not take blood pressure medication regularly.
“With cerebral hemorrhage, the culprit in most cases is high blood pressure (>90%). Data over many years at People’s Hospital 115 shows that in the last months of the year and until the beginning of the following year, the rate of hospitalization due to cerebral hemorrhage related to high blood pressure tends to be significantly high,” the doctor said.
Stroke prevention at the end of the year
According to current recommendations, to prevent stroke, systolic blood pressure should be reduced to below 130 mmHg in all ages. In the PROGRESS study with patients who had previously had a stroke, the prevention effect was optimal when the systolic blood pressure was reduced to below 120 mmHg. With many options for blood pressure control drugs under the guidance of a doctor, achieving the target blood pressure is not too difficult.
“When blood pressure is stable at the lowest possible level, the risk of cerebral hemorrhage will be extremely low. Research results show that reducing systolic blood pressure by just 10 mmHg reduces the rate of cerebral hemorrhage by 64%. This shows that when blood pressure is brought to the optimal value, preventing cerebral hemorrhage will be more effective,” the doctor emphasized.
At the end of the year, Dr. Thang recommends that people need to strictly control underlying diseases, especially high blood pressure because blood pressure can be pushed up very high when the weather changes when the seasons change. For the elderly, obese people and those with many underlying diseases are considered high-risk groups. Especially at the end of the year, there are many occasions to eat and drink, using beer and alcohol that can cause blood pressure to increase very high, so it is necessary to control as much as possible.
“For patients with high blood pressure, you should keep a few blood pressure control pills in many places such as your wallet, desk… and set a timer to avoid forgetting to take your medicine. Over 70% of stroke patients can avoid having a stroke if they take preventive medication in advance,” Dr. Thang recommends.
Source: Vietnam Insider