Stroke rises among men aged 30-49 — Health expert
The country has recorded rising levels of stroke cases in the last three years, with the numbers going up in thousands per 100,000 members of the population.
A Public Health Physician and Health Systems Researcher at the Ministry of Health (MoH), Dr Mavis Sakyi, disclosed this in Accra on Monday.
Speaking at a national stakeholder engagement on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Dr Sakyi said almost 48 per cent of the stroke cases recorded were in men from 30 to 49 years old, which she described as “quite alarming”.
She said previously stroke was seen as a disease of the elderly – people aged 80 to 90 years – but now hospitals are seeing it in young and productive age groups.
According to Dr Sakyi, the main driver is uncontrolled hypertension, which has become common in young men, fueled by:
- poor diet, high salt and processed food consumption
- physical inactivity and sedentary jobs
- alcohol abuse and smoking
- stress, poor sleep, obesity and undiagnosed diabetes
She warned that Ghana currently records between 12,000 to 16,000 stroke cases annually, and stroke is now among the top 3 causes of death in the country, accounting for about 15% of hospital admissions and 16% of deaths.
Global Burden of Disease data shows stroke mortality rose by 4.4% between 2013 and 2023 to become the leading cause of death in Ghana.
The in-hospital case fatality remains high at 41-43% within one month of admission.
Dr Sakyi called for regular blood pressure checks, especially for men in their 30s and 40s, reduced salt intake, regular exercise, and early hospital presentation when symptoms like sudden weakness on one side, confusion, trouble speaking or severe headache occur.
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