Stroke first cause of disability in Italy, affecting 185,000 people every year

2023-05-15 16:23:25

Every year in Italy there are 185,000 people affected by strokewhich in 75% of cases causes disability, while in 20-30% it causes death within a month and in 40-50% within a year. This event is the first cause of disability in our country. Today the attention to the post-event, with the recovery of functionality, has increased also thanks to dedicated campaigns, but the most powerful weapon remains prevention. The Italian Stroke Association (Isa-Aii) recalls this, renewing its invitation to improve the lifestyles of the population after the European Stroke Awareness Day which was celebrated last week.

“Stroke affects 95% of people over the age of 45, it is not a disease of the elderly as is mistakenly thought – explains Mauro Silvestrini, president of Isa-Aii – Of these, 150 thousand are new cases, 35 thousand relapses. In Italy there are about 913,000 patients who survived, many of them with disabling results. Like Isa-Aii we are working to increase attention to the post-event, with the aim of allowing the recovery of disabilities, but it is essential to insist on the importance of prevention. It is not possible to reduce the risk to zero, but we can greatly affect the number of people affected. Stroke also weighs on the budgets of health systems, with costs, on European soil, estimated at up to 60 billion euroswith a forecast to increase up to 86 billion by 2040″.

“Primary prevention is one of our main objectives today – underlines Paola Santalucia, president-elect of the association – To spread the importance of correct lifestyles in the population, a strong awareness operation on correctable risk factors is necessary. For example, to reduce the possibility of stroke it is essential to stop smoking, not consume excessive alcohol, maintain a balanced diet and exercise. Furthermore, numerous conditions and pathologies favor its onset, including hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus and various heart diseases. It doesn’t take much to stay healthy, but punctual checks, in case of problems like these, are necessary”.

“In 2018, the European Stroke Organization launched the Stroke Action Plan for Europe project, with the aim of achieving concrete results by 2030 in terms of improving stroke assistance, prevention, event management and assistance to patients with post-event disabilities”, adds Simona Sacco, president-elect of the European Stroke Organization (Eso).

“We ask the governments of the various countries – he concludes – to sign a document of commitment to guarantee essential services and to monitor how these services are implemented in the various areas. Today the Declaration was signed by 10 countries across Europe and it is hoped that Italy can join soon, as a gesture of closeness and formal commitment of the institutions. Greater attention is needed to primary prevention, with a more rapid recognition of risk factors, pathways dedicated to patients with particular clinical indications and an increase of investment in research”.