Chennai: Even though stroke is the second largest cause of death worldwide, the occurrence of stroke, has been on the decline over the last few years, but what is emerging as an area of concern is the fact that the number of young people being affected by it is on the increase, said senior associate dean for Clinical & Translational Science, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Dr Ralph L Sacco.
Delivering the 40th T S Srinivasan endowment oration titled ”Preventing stroke and maintaining brain Health” supported by the TS Srinivasan Charitable Trust here Sunday, he said, ”Stroke is still a major cause of concern especially in low and middle-income countries where the frequency of stroke is on the rise. Data that is available today suggests that the incidence of stroke in young and middle-aged people is on the increase and this is possibly due to the increase of metabolic risk factors such as obesity and diabetes”.
”The most effective way to bring down the incidence of stroke is prevention. Stroke prevention is not only a task for the health sector but for the government, industries, communities and individuals as well. Physicians should take it upon themselves to proactively educate their patients on the importance of a preventive lifestyle, namely diet, exercise, abstinence from smoking and moderate intake of alcohol. Governments also need to increase their spending in terms of spreading the message of prevention,” he said.