Pretoria News: Three-hour rule would halve stroke burden
A stroke patient who is treated at a stroke unit within three hours of becoming ill has a 50% chance of full recovery, according to a German neurologist.

According to Professor Werner Hacke, chairman of the University of Heidelberg's department of neurology in Germany, the damage caused by stroke could be halved if patients (and their doctors) identified the problem quickly and sought help.

"Symptoms of stroke are well known. Can the patient lift both arms to an equal level? Can they say their name properly? Can they stand up and walk?" said Hacke.

Stroke is the biggest cause of disability in South Africa.

For this reason governments everywhere should do everything possible to improve stroke care to reduce the burden of stroke disability on the state, said Hacke.
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He said one solution for developing countries was to use the Internet more in the treatment of the illness.

This could involve sending live images of the patient to a neurologist based in a city hospital.

"The technology is so good now that a doctor can be in another city and still look into a patient's eyes," he said.

This technology was not expensive (R100 000 for a unit) but needed political co-operation to be installed and properly used.