By Razak Baba
The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate, in partnership with PATH Ghana, has conducted health screening in the Kwadaso Municipality of the Ashanti Region to commemorate World Stroke Day.
World Stroke Day is celebrated globally on October 29, to create awareness of the risk factors that cause heart disease and stroke, which are becoming the leading causes of deaths in Ghanaian adults.
World Stroke Day was initiated in the year 2006 by the World Stroke Organisation to raise awareness of the serious nature and high rates of stroke, prevention and treatment, and ensure better care and support for the survivors.
Globally, October 29th is the day to commemorate this event and the theme for this year is: “The Power of Saving # Precioustime”- with a continued emphasis on the importance of knowing the signs of stroke.
The health screening was meant to provide the opportunity for the public to check their blood pressure and sustain advocacy drive to promote cardiovascular health among Ghanaians.
Those who took part in the exercise included drivers, passengers, traders, and journalists.
A stroke survivor, Mr. David Humadey, underscored the need for frequent check-ups for early detection and prevention because the treatment of stroke is very expensive.
The Ashanti Regional Health Promotion Officer, Mr. Felix Frimpong, encouraged residents to take advantage of the free screening to check their BP and also advised them to desist from acts that would affect their health and well-being.
The Senior Technical Advisor for Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr. Robert Yeboah, said the exercise is aimed at improving health outcomes for people living with hypertension—many of whom are unaware of their status.
Over 101 million people worldwide have had a stroke, and 12.2 million new cases are diagnosed each year, with approximately 65 million people dying from stroke.
The prevalence of stroke in Ghana has seen an increase since 1990 from 1.57 percent (1.57%) to 1.69 percent in 2019 (1.69%).
Hypertension is a silent killer and a major risk factor for stroke; persons with hypertension are three or four times more likely to have a stroke.
