Hanoi (VNA) - One morning last month 53-year-old Hanoi resident Vu Huu wokeup feeling weak over half of his body. He could barely grasp items with hishands and his legs felt like jelly.

Witha medical history of having diabetes and hypertension, he immediately went to BachMai Hospital.

“Doctorssaid I had a light ischemic stroke due to a cerebral embolism,” Huu said. Herecovered shortly after receiving treatment.

Huu’stimely reactions saved his life. But several stroke patients were only taken tohospitals when complications – like paralysis – have occurred, or after theyhave fallen into a coma due to insufficient knowledge on stroke symptoms,according to Prof Dr Le Van Thinh, dean of the neurology department at Bach MaiHospital.

Some200,000 Vietnamese citizens suffer strokes each year, according to the VietnamStroke Association. Half of them die; another 30 percent are at high risk ofparalysis.

Strokeis the third leading cause of death in the country behind heart-relateddiseases and cancer, and had the highest disability rate, according to theassociation.

Astroke is a medical emergency that occurs when blood vessels in the brain areblocked or ruptured, interrupting the blood supply to the brain and causingbrain cells to die within minutes. Clinical symptoms of stroke includehemiplegia (paralysis on one side of the body), incoherent speech or patientsfalling into coma.

Asthe number of stroke patients increased over recent years, the Ministry ofHealth (MoH) last year issued Circular No. 47 to regulate stroke examinationsand treatment at medical units nationwide, which takes effect from today.

Dependingon their capability, one of the following stroke response task forces must beformed at each and every medical unit: stroke team, stroke unit, strokedepartment or stroke centre, said Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the ministry’shealthcare management department. They must operate 24 hours a day and 7 days aweek to ensure timely treatment for stroke patients and reduce sequelae ofcerebral strokes, he said.

Doctorsat HCM City Medicine and Pharmacy University recently succeeded in saving astroke patient’s life thanks to the hospital’s stroke alert process.

Athome, the 42-year-old patient suddenly found it difficult to speak. His faceand mouth became distorted, the left half of his body paralysed.

Thehospital’s stroke alert system was initiated right after the patient washospitalised with the involvement of the majority of doctors at the emergencydepartment, the neurology department’s stroke unit, the diagnostic imagingdepartment and a crew of cerebrovascular intervention doctors.

Anemergency CT scan showed that the patient had had a brainstem infarction due toan occlusion of the basilar artery. His family said it had been his habit inthe last 10 years to smoke 1.5-2 packs of cigarettes per day.

Processimprovement

Thetreatment process for cases of acute cerebral infarction had been improved bythe cerebrovascular pathology department of the People’s Hospital 115 in HCMCity in order to save time for patients, said Nguyen Dinh Phu, vice director ofthe hospital.

Theduration of the intravascular interventional treatment phase had beenshortened, enabling doctors to enter the decision making phase earlier, hesaid.

Specifically,contacts of vascular intervention doctors are included in their online dutyschedule so that they could be reached anytime, even at midnight.Administrative and financial procedures are processed quickly. Advance paymentscan be made by the hospital to cover patients’ medical fees.

Inaddition, consultations between leaders of departments can be done viasmartphone applications. Diagnosing images can also be transferred viasmartphones.

Theshortened process would improve neurological rehabilitation after 3 months oftreatment for cerebral infarction patients, Phu said.

Thehospital would continue to improve the process by increasing collaborationbetween the emergency, diagnostic imaging and clinical laboratory departments,he added. It would focus on shortening the duration of the blood collection andprocess phases in preparation for interventional treatment, he said.-VNA