Hypertension should be managed well in order to prevent stroke

Accra, Oct 30, GNA – There is the need for the proper management of hypertension because it is a key cause of stroke.

“We should develop a training manual on hypertension treatment and also find easy ways of detecting it at the early stages.”

Dr. Alfred Doku, Country Director of the Ghana Heart Initiative, said this at the marking of the World Stroke Day, which was celebrated in Accra.

Dubbed, “Do Not be the One,” the event was organised by the Ministry of Health, and sought to raise awareness on the persistence of stroke cases in Ghana, its major causes and how to prevent its occurrence.

Dr Doku who is also the Vice President of the Vice President of the Ghana Association of Cardiologists, said it was unfortunate that many Ghanaians and Africans as a whole were getting stricken down by stroke and dying of it.

He observed that because the county’s health system was currently not well geared towards dealing with active stroke cases, “our main message is let us prevent it.”

Dr. Doku noted that communicable disease treatment such as HIV Aids, was the main objective of the country’s health system and not stroke, which made stroke prevention crucial.

“Let us go out into the communities to detect hypertension and manage it well. If we wait for people to come to see us because they are already experiencing symptoms, it is often already too late,” he urged the country’s health personnel.

Dr Albert Akpalu, Neurologist, University of Ghana Medical School and Senior Neurologist, Korlebu Teaching Hospital, urged the public to avoid stress by any means possible, exercise regularly eat leafy green vegetables, avoid junk food and also manage their weight gain, as major steps towards avoiding stroke.

He cautioned that there was the need to avoid eating processed foods, carbohydrates in excess, adding that stress and depression had to be prevented as much as possible.

Dr. Akpalu also urged people to reduce their smoke and alcohol intake, and ultimately strive to completely avoid the intake of the two substances.

Stroke happens either when the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off because of a blood clot, or because a brain artery raptures and leads to a hemorrhage.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability world-wide, but most strokes can be prevented by addressing a small number of risk factors.
GNA