STROKE IS DEADLY – HEALTH EXPERT

By Arnel Chitundu

PERSONS with hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, or post-head injury, are particularly at higher risk of having a stroke, a Medical Expert has disclosed.

Speaking to The Scoop, Teddy Mulenga listed stroke, lung cancer, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and chronic obstructive airway as diseases caused by substance abuse.

Dr.  Mulenga disclosed that a massive stroke could result in immediate death while in some cases some people may die in their sleep.

The health expert disclosed that Zambia lost close to 8,000 people each year to stroke and other substance-related illnesses.

“It is imperative to understand that the brain is only 2 percent of the body but consumes 25 percent of oxygen and if the brain is denied oxygen for more than five minutes, one risks experiencing irreversible brain tissue damage.

“This is why Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) must not be delayed beyond two minutes of someone not breathing,” Dr. Mulenga emphasized.

He explained that stroke attack meant that one had experienced a shortage of oxygen to some part of the brain and that Zambia was among other countries with a high burden of stroke such that it was the eighth leading cause of death nationally, surpassed primarily by infectious causes of death.

And Dr. Mulenga has since urged the public that may experience any stroke-related symptoms to seek immediate medical attention.

He advised that stroke did not have a cure but could be managed and repeat strokes prevented.

“This can come through blood vessel in brain getting smaller (spasm), narrowing clot formation, creating a blockage run away clot (embolism) causing blockage bleeding in the brain tissue (small blood vessels can rupture), any one of these can cause a shortage of oxygen to your brain.

“When this happens, the first thing you will feel is dizziness and slight mental confusion but earlier on you may experience warning symptoms like painful hiccups, headaches, difficulty in swallowing, irritability, or you may be losing balance and your vision may be getting worse,” he explained.

The data illustrate Zambia’s double burden of disease with rising rates of non-communicable diseases in the midst of ongoing high rates of infectious diseases.

Chainama Hills Hospital this year reportedly recorded a total of 16,000 mental illnesses resulting from substance abuse like marijuana, alcohol abuse, and depression.