Anti-Stroke Fight To Become Worldwide Health Priority - World Stroke Organization

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Main Category: Stroke
Article Date: 28 Oct 2011 - 14:00 PDT


The World Stroke Organization (WSO) declares their solidarity to patients, stroke survivors and their loved ones. At today's World Stroke Day, WSO president Bo Norrving warns that, "The global burden of stroke has reached epidemic proportions and the situation will not improve until strong actions are taken."

15 million people suffer a stroke each year. Every six seconds, a person dies from a stroke, a condition that claims the lives of almost six million people per year and is the second leading cause of death for those aged 60 years or more, and the fifth for those aged between 15 to 59 years. It is also the largest cause of long-term disability irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity or country and accounts for more deaths each year than those associated with AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

The WSO calls on members worldwide to exert pressure on their governments to enact targeted policies that underline the urgency of the fight against stroke, so that national public health agendas put the cause on top of their list.

Prof. Norrving declares:

"Recent stroke facts remain grim: there are few signs pointing to a decline in the incidence of strokes. Stroke risk facts remain under managed globally."

The WSO is intensifying education efforts and raising the general public's awareness in the second year of its "1 in 6" campaign, named to reflect the fact that one in six people will suffer a stroke during their life. The campaign's key messages are:

• Stroke can be prevented
• Stroke can be treated
• Stroke can be managed in the long-term

Prof. Norrving points out that:

"these messages may sound simple, but they are powerful. We need to use this powerful simplicity to improve public health for stroke."

This year, focused on eliminating stroke WSO leaders have proactively raised the awareness of key opinion leaders, heads of state and health policy experts to place more emphasis on fighting the disease. WSO leaders were invited and participated at numerous key events in 2011, which included the first Russian Ministerial Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) and Healthy Lifestyles in Moscow and the historic United Nations High Level summit on NCD Prevention and Control in New York. Earlier this month WSO leaders were at the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, held in Rio de Janeiro.

Prof. Markku Kaste, chair of the Campaign declared: "In 2011, three-quarters of all individuals that have suffered from a stroke live in resource-constrained countries where health systems are already challenged to the limit." He urged: " We must act now before it is too late."

More information about the World Stroke Campaign

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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