Expert canvasses coordinated policy on disease

ayodele johnson

February 16, 2017 11:25 PM

Dr Kingsley Eleazu advised Nigerians to avoid life styles that could trigger stroke, such as extreme passion and too much indulgence in sleep.

Effect of stroke on the hand.

Dr Kingsley Eleazu, a general physician in Imo, has called for a coordinated policy on the control of stroke-related deaths in the country.

Eleazu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone on Thursday in Abuja that the rising cases of vascular disease in Nigeria required urgent attention.

He said that stroke was treatable and manageable if the necessary steps were taken.

“In the country there is this wrong perception that non-communicable diseases have yet to reach an epidemic level.

“This is wrong because available statistics indicate that stroke prevalence is 1.14 per 1,000 persons and mortality from stroke has gone up to 40 per cent in Nigeria,’’ he said.

According to Eleazu, HIV increases the risk of stroke by 40 per cent and 11 per cent of sickle cell patients have stroke before age 20 with another 24 per cent in patients less than 45 years.

He advised Nigerians to avoid life styles that could trigger stroke, such as extreme passion and too much indulgence in sleep.

Eleazu added that people who are at risk should avoid smoking and develop the habit of constantly checking their blood pressure and other vital signs in their bodies.

Eleazu called for synergy among stakeholders in the medical sector to check the deaths caused by stroke in the country.

He said Nigeria was blessed with the human resource needed to address the menace and appealed to stakeholders to work together to provide the required facilities to manage stroke.

ayodele johnson