Action For Stroke Prevention

MEXICO CITY, September 10, 2011 - Medical and patient communities call on national policymakers in Latin America to take urgent action against preventable strokes that strike millions of people with atrial fibrillation (AF) each year AF increases the risk of stroke fivefold and is responsible for one in five of all ischemic strokes caused by a blood clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain(1)(2)(3)(4) Millions of people in Latin America suffer from AF In Brazil, there are around 1.5 million patients living with AF(5) In Venezuela, it is thought there are 230,000 AF sufferers, with this figure predicted to rise to one million by 2050(6) The consequences of stroke can devastate not only a patient's life, but also that of families and carers.(7)(8) Long-term help and care is required for most survivors(9) The economic implications of stroke are significant.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 6, 2011 - According to a new report, How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis in the Asia-Pacific Region?, urgent coordinated action is needed to avoid millions of preventable strokes, which leave many patients who have atrial fibrillation (AF) both mentally and physically disabled, or dead, every year.