2024-05-02 09:25:40
According to statistics, the percentage of young people who have suffered a stroke is increasing. Fifteen percent of patients are between the ages of 15 and 49. Why is it?
The main reason seems to be an unhealthy lifestyle and probably an excess of stress. In patients with the absence of classic risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, the cause may be some of the rarer diseases, such as thrombophilic conditions or other diseases of the central nervous system. Unfortunately, a large number of these patients at a younger age underestimated the treatment of their high blood pressure or did not have the therapy sufficiently intensive. These types of strokes are often devastating, and if patients survive, they usually have lifelong consequences.
25 thousand Czechs suffer a stroke every year. How do we compare with other European countries?
Unfortunately, its incidence is still significantly higher in our country than in the countries of Western Europe. Compared to countries further east, however, we are much better off. However, since the turn of the millennium, we have observed a slight decrease in the Czech Republic, which is due to better control of arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.
Do we underestimate prevention in general?
How to recognize the first symptoms of a stroke
- A stroke can manifest as sudden weakness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- It is also accompanied by sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding
- You should pay attention to sudden vision problems in one or both eyes
- Symptoms also include dizziness, difficulty walking, loss of balance or coordination
- Last but not least, a severe headache without a known cause is also a warning
Source: Pilulka.cz
Yes. You just have to look around to see how many of us have a lifestyle that is, at least for the most part, in line with the recommendations. We all know how we should eat, how we should exercise, how harmful smoking and excessive alcohol are, but few follow these rules. The second thing is that many of us underestimate the treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol or incipient diabetes.
Only to a very small extent do we use the opportunity to get checked regularly, and only a fraction of the population knows their blood pressure and cholesterol values. We should not only know these parameters, but also be interested in what values we should achieve, either by changing the lifestyle or by treatment. For each of us, the target levels of blood pressure and cholesterol are different, depending on age, gender, illnesses of our direct relatives or other associated diseases for which we are being treated.
Does the medical study bring any new knowledge?
Yes, for example, they point to the fact that individuals who have a stroke at a younger age are twice as likely to develop dementia in the future. The risk decreases if patients consistently rehabilitate and modify their lifestyle after the event.
Men have a worse lifestyle
Are there any differences in the cause, treatment or effects of stroke in women and men?
In general, it can be said that strokes occur more often in men at a younger age, and more often in women at a later age. The question is what is the cause. Younger men seem to have a slightly worse lifestyle, associated with the accumulation of risk factors such as smoking, higher alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, unrecognized high blood pressure or cholesterol. These risk factors multiply, which is why younger men with an overall worse lifestyle are more at risk than women who, after all, take a little more care of themselves.
So when are women at risk?
Estrogen protects women during the reproductive period, after menopause this effect disappears and the relative risk of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, increases in women. In the group of younger women, the use of hormonal contraception in combination with smoking also plays a role. If a woman still has a predisposition to higher blood clotting, this is a very unfortunate combination that often leads to the formation of blood clots and the development of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or stroke.
Eva Tůmová
He mainly deals with preventive cardiology and actively publishes in this area. He takes care of patients with high cholesterol and high blood pressure on an outpatient basis. At the same time, he works in the inpatient internal medicine department and cares for patients with a wide range of internal diseases.
Are lasting effects different in younger patients than in older patients?
It depends a lot on the extent and location of the stroke, so the consequences are very variable. As studies show, a patient who has had a stroke – even in the case of an excellent recovery – is at risk of further cardiovascular events throughout his life. Therefore, permanent preventive treatment and regular follow-up by a doctor is necessary.
As the long-term consequences are often disabling, the trend of increasing stroke in young people is a threat not only from an individual health perspective, but also from a socio-economic perspective. Especially in developing countries, where the incidence of stroke is rising more steeply, the exclusion of young people from society can have a very negative impact. However, if a younger patient undergoes intensive rehabilitation, the organism’s capacities in terms of learning and muscle strength are significantly better than in advanced age.
Exercise at least three times a week
You treat patients with high blood pressure and cholesterol. What is the percentage of people who are overweight and obese?
There won’t be quite a few of them. It is indeed sometimes possible to improve blood pressure and sometimes cholesterol values after losing weight, and the treatment can either be reduced or stopped completely. On the other hand, we have a high percentage of healthy patients with a normal body weight who, however, have a hereditary high cholesterol level or high blood pressure due to another disease.
Is the treatment of stroke in the Czech Republic comparable to other Western countries?
Acute patient care and its success here is comparable to the countries of Western Europe. In the Czech Republic, it takes place in stroke and cerebrovascular centers (in a total of 45 facilities), which are specialized workplaces providing comprehensive care with a very high success rate of treatment. We can see some differences in follow-up care, when we encounter poorer availability of services in certain regions or longer waiting periods. There is also an ongoing effort for better prevention and education.
You mainly deal with preventive cardiology and you also actively publish in this area. What do you emphasize in your practice and academic work?
As I have already mentioned, the main building block for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases is a healthy lifestyle, which, despite popular opinion, does not have to be suffering. All you have to do is use common sense and try to move as much as possible in your daily life and do an activity that can be called a sport and which will mainly entertain us for at least forty-five minutes three times a week. Eat as varied a diet as possible, as little industrially processed as possible, watch your weight and don’t smoke. We must not forget about rest and quality sleep. We should also surround ourselves with people we are comfortable with. It would be great if the foundation of a happy and healthy life was laid by the family and children grew up in an environment where it is a matter of course.
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