To highlight the burden of stroke disease, World Stroke Week is being commemorated until 3 November, having started on Sunday, 29 October.
The campaign is one of the key annual flagship health campaigns of the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa.
According to the foundation, every day 225 South Africans die from stroke and heart disease, while ten people suffer a stroke every hour.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke annually.
The World Stroke Organisation (WSO) states that over 12 million people worldwide will have their first stroke this year and 6,5 million will die as a result of a stroke. Over 110 million people in the world have experienced a stroke in their lifetime.
The incidence of stroke increases significantly with age. However, over 60% of strokes happen to people under the age of 70 and 16% happen to those under the age of 50.
Stroke falls within the cluster of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs cause over 60% of the world’s deaths, 80% of which occur in low and middle-income countries. South Africa, being an upper middle-income country, is also affected.
It is anticipated that by 2030 NCDs will overtake all other causes of death in Africa.
