Wellness Update: Asia: Leading Experts Call For Urgent Action To Avoid Stroke Crisis Across Asia-Pacific Region

Leading Experts Call For Urgent Action To Avoid Stroke Crisis Across Asia-Pacific Region: "According to a new report, How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis in the Asia-Pacific Region?, urgent coordinated action is needed to avoid millions of preventable strokes, which leave many patients who have atrial fibrillation (AF) both mentally and physically disabled, or dead, every year.

The report, launched today during the 18th Asian Pacific Congress of Cardiology (APCC) by Action for Stroke Prevention, a group of health experts from across the globe, proposes urgent measures to prevent stroke in Asia-Pacific patients with AF, the most common, sustained abnormal heart rhythm and a major cause of stroke.2 The report's recommendations are endorsed by 32 leading Asia-Pacific and other global medical societies and patient organizations, reinforcing and recognizing the need for a call to action.

A stroke epidemic across the Asia-Pacific region, and indeed the rest of the world, is imminent if actions are not taken now to slow the rising tide of preventable strokes occurring every year. Dr. Sim Kui Hian, Head, Department of Cardiology and Head, Clinical Research Centre, Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia, commented, 'The incidence of stroke across the Asia-Pacific region is continuing to grow and constitutes both a major public health issue and a significant economic burden."