Prioritise prevention, treatment and care for heart conditions

Our news report on the plight of stroke patients, published on World Stroke Day highlights the struggles of stroke victims with 15 million people being affected annually and five million of those patients succumbing to the condition every year.

As illustrated in the report, this is exacerbated by the unavailability of critical facilities to save lives in the nick of time. In Uganda, a person afflicted with this very time-sensitive condition could be transferred over long distances between different health centres in search of the required attention and by the time they get it, it could be too late.

Unfortunately, many people are also exposed to contributing factors for stroke, such as high cholesterol and excessive weight gain leading to a high body mass index. Smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise are also key factors, in addition to excessive stress without enough outlets to manage the strain.

More emphasis and education needs to be placed on stroke, which is projected to affect at least one in every four people in their lifetime. 

The cost of treating and caring for patients after a stroke is high and there aren’t enough health centres that offer sufficient care at affordable cost. This then means that if they don’t lose their lives, stroke victims will live a poor quality of life unless the health sector moves to improve access to timely treatment and appropriate care.

According to the World Stroke Organisation, 101 million people are living with stroke aftermath globally, a number that has doubled in the last 30 years. 

According to World Health Organization data, stroke is the sixth leading cause of death in Uganda at 24 deaths per 100,000 of the population. The burden is indeed high thus recognition, funding and emphasis needs to be directed at this sudden and ruthless killer condition that leaves those who survive death vulnerable and/or incapacitated.

Awareness programmes akin to those devoted to HIV and Malaria ought to be developed and implemented, alongside ensuring easy access to health facilities by maintaining a decent transport system. 

Make the necessary drugs and treatments affordable and increase the number of centres with specialized units. We need to move beyond the one national referral heart disease centre and extend services closer to the people. 

With prevention and treatment working in sync, we can stop many preventable deaths and needless.