AVC: what measures to slow down the global increase?

With 7.3 million deaths worldwide, strokes represented the third cause of death in 2021 after ischemic heart disease (a lack of oxygenation of the heart) and Covid-19. This is what is revealed in The Lancet Neurologyan international collective of researchers who conducted an in-depth analysis, between 1990 and 2021, of the global impact of stroke and its risk factors. In thirty years, the number of cases has increased by 70% and mortality by 44%, and it is also the fourth cause of loss of years of healthy life. Because not only do strokes kill, they also leave many people with lasting disabilities.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted, depriving brain cells of oxygen and nutrients essential for their function and survival. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic stroke, caused by blockage of blood vessels, and hemorrhagic stroke, which results from rupture of a vessel. According to this study, ischemic strokes constitute 65.3% of cases, intracerebral hemorrhages 28.8%, and subarachnoid hemorrhages (in the meninges, the envelopes which surround the brain cells) 5.8%. Furthermore, the increase in the incidence, deaths and prevalence of stroke is particularly worrying in South-East Asia, East Asia and Oceania, but also in people under 70 years of age, as well as than in countries with a low sociodemographic index (SDI), a measure that combines indicators of social and economic development to assess the level of development of a region or country.

However, the researchers also revealed that 84% of cases are attributable to 23 modifiable risk factors: a large number of strokes would therefore be avoidable, for example by limiting obesity, global warming, smoking and air pollution. the air. Indeed, strokes linked to too high a body mass index increased by 88%, those due to high temperatures, by 72%, to high blood sugar, by 32%, to excess sugary drinks, by 23%. , lack of physical activity, by 11%, high blood pressure, by 7%, and insufficient dietary intake of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, by 5%. It is therefore a call for increased surveillance in all countries around the world and for an adaptation of public health policies to reduce the burden of stroke…