With every minute that passes, in the context of a stroke, 2 million neurons are lost, so every second counts. If we can treat and improve high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, we will reduce the likelihood of strokes occurring. Because the numbers are clear: 80% of stroke patients suffer from high blood pressure.
Being aware of this reality is important every day of the year. However, the message will be reinforced now, as March 31st marks National Stroke Patients’ Day. This year, the Portuguese Cerebral Vascular Accident Society (SPAVC) has as its campaign motto to mark the anniversary: ”Stop Stroke, join us” which, in essence, is “an invitation for everyone to actively participate in awareness about stroke”, wearing the campaign t-shirt and leaving the message that “we can all be athletes on a team that fights against this disease”, as explained by Vítor Tedim Cruz, president of the SPAVC Board.
«This day is the most important annual celebration for SPAVC. It is a date that we have marked for more than 20 years, whose primary objective was and will always be to raise awareness about the impact of stroke», says Cristina Duque, SPAVC national ambassador for this day. SPAVC’s mission is to “talk about the warning signs of stroke, the so-called 3 F’s, educate on ways to prevent the disease, raise awareness of vascular risk factors and encourage a healthy lifestyle”, comments the neurologist. She adds that “it is a day dedicated to educating the population, but also to valuing health professionals and associations of stroke patients and survivors”.
As part of National Stroke Patients’ Day, the “Stroke Fortnight” has been taking place since yesterday, until April 7, with various activities organized by different institutions, endorsed by SPAVC, such as “screenings for vascular risk factors, informative lectures on primary and secondary prevention, and health promotion activities such as walks”, adds the person in charge.
For SPAVC, it is essential that awareness messages about stroke are reinforced year after year. “We hope that the information reaches more and more people because, despite all the innovations in treatments and all the communication that has been disseminated, stroke continues to be the main cause of mortality and disability in Portugal”, explains the specialist who is also a member of the J-SPAVC youth group. “It is important that the population understands the seriousness of this disease which, despite everything, is preventable and treatable, which reinforces the idea that part of the fight against stroke depends a lot on people”, she adds. SPAVC argues that the population plays a fundamental role, on the one hand, by “identifying warning signs (changes in speech, face and strength in one of the body’s limbs) that allow the patient to resort to an emergency service or as quickly as possible and, on the other, through knowledge of vascular risk factors and the importance of a healthy lifestyle”.
As Ambassador of this National Day, Cristina Duque “encourages all local communities, hospitals, health centers, social institutions and patient associations to mark, with SPAVC, this very important day. It is never too much to remember that we must always be aware of the signs of this disease and that together we can combat and improve stroke in Portugal”. Vítor Tedim Cruz reinforces that “the fight against stroke takes place in hospitals, stroke units, Vias Verdes and rehabilitation centers, but also, and above all, at home, in families, in schools and in the community, through correction, every day, of risk factors and reducing the weight of everything that brings us closer to a stroke”.
