Title: Health Official Highlights National Stroke Rates, Calls for Public Awareness and Swift Action
In a detailed briefing on a critical health issue, a senior Iranian medical official has provided stark statistics on stroke incidence, framing it as a major national health priority that demands coordinated public and institutional response.
A National Health Priority
Dr. Sharifipour, Secretary of the Iranian Stroke Association, identified stroke as the second leading cause of mortality in the country. He revealed that in the capital city of Tehran alone, between 150 to 200 individuals suffer a stroke each night. The condition often results in either death or permanent disability for those affected.
Dr. Sharifipour emphasized that without effective public awareness campaigns and a clear prioritization of diseases by the Ministry of Health, the nation could face significant challenges in both the occurrence and treatment of strokes.
The Critical Window for Treatment
Highlighting the infrastructure in place to combat this threat, the official pointed to the 115 Emergency Services as a vital resource for rapid response to stroke patients. He stressed that upon observing the signs of a stroke, citizens must not delay in seeking help. “Every minute, a significant number of nerve cells are irreversibly destroyed,” he stated, underscoring the time-sensitive nature of effective medical intervention.
He also clarified that while advanced medical technologies like brain MRIs and mapping are available, they are not predictive tools for stroke risk. Their primary utility lies in diagnosis after an event has occurred.
Comparative Statistics and Systemic Response
The annual incidence of stroke in Iran is approximately 150 cases per 100,000 people, a rate reported to be 1.5 times higher than the global average. Collectively, strokes and heart attacks are responsible for more than half of all fatalities in the country.
To address this, Dr. Sharifipour outlined the essential protocol for patient care: individuals arriving at the emergency department with a suspected stroke must receive immediate brain imaging and begin clot-busting treatments without delay to maximize the chances of a full recovery.