The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) and the Taiwan Stroke Society (TSS) yesterday released a stroke risk assessment chart, consisting of eight main risk factors, to help people evaluate if they have a high risk of having a stroke, while also introducing a new slogan for people to use to quickly spot signs of a stroke.
HPA Deputy Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said as World Stroke Day is Oct. 29, the HPA has teamed up with the TSS to introduce a stroke risk assessment chart.
Referencing the stroke risk scorecard released by the US National Stroke Association, the risk assessment chart lists eight risk factors, he said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
TSS president Lee Jiunn-tay (李俊泰), a professor of neurology at National Defense Medical Center, said globally, one in four people have a stroke at some time in their life.
The “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids and high blood sugar — and cardiovascular disease are the most common causes of stroke in Taiwan, Lee said.
The risk of having a stroke is increased by 2.1 times in hypertension patients with poor blood pressure control, while the risk is about 1.5 to 2 times in people with diabetes and up to 5 times in people with two or more types of diabetes, he said.
The risk of stroke in hypertensive smokers is increased 6 times compared with non-smokers without hypertension, he added.
About 61 percent of stroke survivors in Taiwan suffer disabilities a month after their first stroke, while about 40 percent still suffer disabilities after six months and some can suffer lifelong disabilities, resulting in an enormous burden on their family and costing up to NT$1 million (US$35,797) a year, Lee said.
The eight risk factors for stroke in the risk assessment chart are: high blood pressure; high blood lipids; diabetes (high blood sugar); atrial fibrillation (a quivering or irregular heartbeat); smoking; obesity; lack of exercise; and having a family history of stroke, he said.
“If individuals have any three of the eight risk factors, they are at higher risk of stroke,” he said, adding that they are recommended to consult with a doctor to learn how to reduce the risks.
“Two hidden crises of handling an acute stroke are inability to recognize signs of a stroke and not getting a patient to a hospital fast enough,” said TSS secretary-general Chou Chung-hsing (周中興), director of the department of neurology at Tri-Service General Hospital.
The three most common signs of a stroke are “face drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulty,” but often people only recognize a stroke when the person faints or falls down, Chou said.
A TSS survey suggested that only 20.9 percent of people would call an ambulance when they spot signs of a stroke in another person, while about 62.8 percent would take the person having a stroke to the nearest hospital or clinic, which might not be the most suitable arrangement, he said.
“Smile, raise your arms, say hello, and quickly call 119,” is the slogan that the HPA and TSS have created to help people better notice signs of an acute stroke, Chou said.
People should call an ambulance immediately if they spot a person’s smile becoming lopsided or drooping, they are suddenly unable to lift both arms and have trouble speaking clearly, either slurred or garbled, he said.
People can lose up to 1.9 million neurons per minute in a typical large vessel, supratentorial acute ischemic stroke, so getting the patient to a hospital quickly is crucial, Chou said.
A doctor attending a lecture by professor in his 70s with three risk factors — arrhythmia, family history of stroke and lack of exercise — spotted the left side of his face drooping and slurred speech, so he quickly called an ambulance. The professor arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later and was treated with intravenous thrombolytic therapy and has not suffered another stroke in four years, he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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