Professor of neurology and one of the researcher Frank-Erik de Leeuw says that the figures are striking and have risen considerably. “In twelve years, the number of patients with a stroke has increased by 40 percent among women and 60 percent among men.”
Unhealthy life
Unfortunately, the cause cannot be determined exactly, because hospitals only register the number of patients and not the causes. De Leeuw does say that unhealthy living plays a major role. “A stroke is in many cases caused by the things we do to ourselves: alcohol consumption, smoking, unhealthy diet or drug use.” Yet heredity remains a factor or the cause is never discovered.
Young people
The Trimbos Institute has identified a trend among young people. They are increasingly coming to the emergency department with a stroke after a pounding headache or very high blood pressure.
Many young people are unaware that drug use can lead to a stroke. “The risk is of course greater if you use longer and more, but even a single use can cause an acute increase in blood pressure, which can cause a stroke because clots clog the blood vessels in the brain,” says De Leeuw.
Esther Croes, medical epidemiologist at the Trimbos Institute says that more research needs to be done into the relationship between drug use and strokes in young people. “It seems that drugs increase the risk,” says Croes.
“With cocaine, for example, that makes sense, because your blood pressure goes up further and the vessels constrict,” Croes explains. With cannabis, that link cannot be made immediately. However, blood vessels can become more easily infected by cannabis use. “Then you can get a wound on the inside of the vessel and clots stick to it more easily.”
Implications
In the Netherlands, approximately 372,000 people live with the consequences of a stroke. This can range from loss of sensation or paralysis in one arm or leg to difficulty speaking and swallowing. These people will always live with a degree of disability.
Most people affected are well over the age of 70, says De Leeuw. While it is a major event in their lives, the impact on young people can be seen as even greater. “If they are young people, then they have to live with it much longer, often decades.”
De Leeuw continues that most young people improve physically after rehabilitation, but that they are no longer able to lead the same life as before. Often these people still suffer from ‘invisible consequences’ such as concentration problems, fatigue, overstimulation or they can no longer take care of their family. “Those are serious limitations. On the outside you think: those people have come off well. But I see in practice: that is very disappointing.”
Education
De Leeuw believes that many strokes can be prevented with education. “There are more and better prevention programs for people who come to the doctor with overweight, an unhealthy lifestyle or addictions, but they are mainly aimed at older patients who come to the doctor. Young people are generally less likely to report to the doctor. ”
By: National Care Guide
2023-05-19 09:12:40
#pill #emergency #room #due #stroke
