KUALA LUMPUR: The number of deaths from haemorrhagic strokes in Malaysia is increasing, with many patients dying before receiving treatment at hospitals.
Head and Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon at Tunku Abdul Rahman Neuroscience Institute (Iktar), Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Dr Azmi Alias, said that based on National Peri-Operative Mortality Review (POMR) statistics, haemorrhagic strokes had been the leading cause of death since 2019, surpassing brain damage.
There are two types of strokes: ischemic stroke (blocked or reduced blood flow to the brain) and haemorrhagic stroke (spontaneous bleeding in the brain).
"Ischemic stroke is more common, causing facial drooping due to blocked blood supply, but sometimes patients can recover if blood flow returns quickly," he said.
"Haemorrhagic stroke is more deadly as it can occur suddenly due to a drastic rise in brain pressure, causing loss of consciousness or death," he told Bernama after launching a public awareness campaign in conjunction with the Five-Kilometre Haemorrhagic Stroke Brain Race Fun Run here on Thursday (July 11), which was also attended by Kuala Lumpur Hospital director-general Datuk Harikrishna K. Ragavan Nair.
Dr Azmi explained that a stroke causes sensitive brain cells to die within minutes, with normal brain cells surviving only five to ten minutes without adequate blood, nutrients, and oxygen.
"About 30% to 35% of deaths from 1,000 reported cases in hospitals in developed countries are due to stroke," he said, adding that uncontrolled hypertension and aneurysms are major causes of haemorrhagic stroke.
"There are factors we can change and control to reduce the risk of strokes, including not smoking, avoiding alcohol, and practising a healthy diet.
"Stroke can be controlled and prevented to a certain extent, but immediate treatment is crucial. Know the initial symptoms, and doctors will determine if patients require early intervention," he said, adding that 70% of patients who receive treatment recover well. – Bernama
