Stroke should be treated quickly

People who suffer from a stroke should be treated by a doctor within three hours of experiencing it to enable them to have a better chance of recovering, an official said here over the weekend.

Indonesian Stroke Foundation (Yastroki) Deputy Chairman Haryono Suyono said that people who had a stroke could be saved from death or major brain damage if they were taken to hospital within the first three hours.

Speaking at the Jakarta Islamic Hospital, he said that the foundation planned to hold forums, involving district and subdistrict chiefs here, to improve their awareness about strokes.

Haryono, who is the former coordinating minister for social welfare and poverty alleviation, said Yastroki planned to run major campaigns through the mass media to improve the awareness of Jakarta residents on stroke.

He said Jakarta would be chosen as a pilot project for such a medical campaign because the capital city had the largest number of stroke patients among large cities in the country.

President of the Indonesian Neurological Association Samino said the increase in the number of stroke patients was caused by an increase in unhealthy habits, such as smoking, drinking alcohol and the cholesterol contained in food.

He said strokes were also caused by diabetes, stress, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. --JP