Qaem Hospital, the Only Comprehensive Center to Cure Brain Stroke in the East of the Country

Associate professor of department of neurological disorders at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences pointed to brain stroke as the second cause of death in the world and said: “during recent years, due to lifestyle changes and increased population of the elderly, brain stroke has become more widespread and has turned into the second cause of death in Iran.

According to WebDa, speaking in a press conference held on the occasion of brain stroke notification week, Dr. Kavian Qandehari pointed out that most brain strokes occur in the elderly and lots of costs are incurred to the family and the health system. He said: “Weakness or paralysis of the hands and feet, speech impairment, impaired balance and memory disorders might be signs of a brain stroke for which the patient should refer to health care centers”.

Fellow of brain stroke at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences pointed to aging, arterial arthritis, uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, smoking, and heart diseases as brain stroke risk factors and said: “if these factors are present in a person, serious treatment should begin to prevent from a brain stroke”.

Faculty member of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences noted that following the acute period of hospitalization, the patient should begin receiving rehabilitation services including occupational therapy, speech therapy and physiotherapy; he said: “patients are best treated within the first six months of occurrence of brain stroke and chance of treatment reduces as the time passes”.

Referring to the fact that clot breakdown using special drugs is a treatment method for brain stroke patients which is applied in Qaem Hospital, Dr. Qandehari stated: “this treatment method is applied only to patients who have been transferred to the hospital within the first three hours of brain stroke and it is used after clinical examination is done”.

Mentioning that a brain stroke specialist decides whether to break down a clot, associate professor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences said: “only 10 percent of patients are transferred to health care centers within the first three hours of brain stroke and most patients miss this golden time”.

Noting that during recent years the Ministry of Health has specifically focused on treating and preventing from brain stroke and has implemented various plans in this respect, Dr. Qandehari said: “lunching the nationwide 724 system in which the brain stroke patients profile as well as tests and radiology results are registered is one such measure so that national treatment macro policies be formulated accordingly”.

Associate professor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences pointed to lunching of specialized health care centers to treat brain stroke (the stroke unit) as another measure taken by the Ministry of Health and said: “brain stroke patients are hospitalized in these centers and are treated with well-trained personnel and sub-specialist treatment services are provided for them”.