LONDON--(BUSINESSWIRE)-- Asia-Pacific remains at risk of a devastating stroke crisis, according to regional health experts launching two new Reports published today, on World Stroke Day, by Action for Stroke Prevention (ASP). Building on ASPs 2011 Report, How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis in the Asia-Pacific Region?, the launch of todays supplementary Reports focus on specific action steps that can be taken by healthcare decisions makers and professional and patient organisations, to reduce the catastrophic personal and economic impact of AF-related stroke.
Alarmingly, the Reports highlight the fact that the first time many people will find out they have AF is when they have a stroke. Furthermore, approximately 70% of patients with known AF who had a stroke caused by a blood clot were not receiving anticoagulant therapy to prevent AF-related stroke at the time it occurred.v,vi,vii With stroke placing a huge financial burden on countries in the Asia-Pacific region, more needs to be done to reduce the number of these serious, costly, and yet preventable strokes.
Reducing a Preventable Burden: Effecting Change
We need to ensure that AF is recognised as a serious risk factor for stroke in national prevention plans and that concrete actions are defined in these plans that support earlier diagnosis and improved awareness, education and prevention, said world-renowned Cardiology expert, John Camm, Professor of Clinical Cardiology at St Georges University, London, UK. It is our hope that national governments will address this as they plan how to meet the United Nations commitment to reduce non-communicable diseases by 25% by the year 2025.
Recommendations made by the Reports include:
Professor Han Hwa Hu, Professor of Neurology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan and President of the Taiwan Stroke Association commented, We hope that the guidance provided in these Reports will be of use to healthcare decision makers and healthcare professionals alike. Patients are not being diagnosed early enough and too many are receiving no or sub-optimal anticoagulation leaving them unprotected and at risk of stroke.
Lack of Knowledge Increases Risk
A recent survey by IPSOS MORI has underlined the urgent need to act on Action for Stroke Preventions recommendations. The survey of 9,211 people from 20 countries across the globe highlights that, whilst 40% of people within the specific Asia-Pacific sample (N=2,303) fear having a stroke above someviii other serious health conditions including heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol, only 5% are fearful of AF, despite it being a major risk factor for serious stroke.ix
There is an unnecessarily heavy burden being placed on patients and their families due to the under-diagnosis and poor management of people with AF. We must increase the general publics knowledge about the symptoms of AF and that it is a risk for stroke. Importantly, once people are diagnosed they must have better access to stroke prevention treatments, including the non-Vitamin K Antagonists now available, said Professor Byung-Woo Yoon, Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Korea and Chairman of the Korean Stroke Society.
Despite the availability of clinical practice guidelines, such as the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines on AF, adherence to them is poor, and there remains a chronic under-use of effective stroke prevention therapies in AF with several studies reporting anticoagulant use in <50% of people with AF who are at high risk of stroke.
More:
Asia-Pacific Health Experts Call for Urgent Action to Prevent a Stroke Crisis