A report shows that every year Vietnam has 200,000 stroke cases and 50 percent of them have bad developments and die. The ‘golden time’ for handling stroke is the first 3-4 hours. Patients need to be hospitalized as soon as possible to receive timely treatment.

According to Dr Pham Thi Ngoc Quyen from the HCM City Medicine and Pharmacy University, strokes may occur at any age, but some people have higher risks than others.

There are two main groups of risks that may cause stroke. The first includes smoking, alcohol addiction, obesity and AF sufferers. The second includes age, gender and genetics. 

To prevent stroke, people need to control risk factors through screening programs.

Doctor Nguyen Ba Thang, Head of the Neuroscience Center under the HCM City Medicine and Pharmacy University, said it is necessary to save every second when treating a stroke to avoid serious consequences. 

He said at the medical facility the duration from the time stroke patients are hospitalized to the time they are injected with Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator is 25-28 minutes, much better than the required international standard (within 60 minutes).

This helped the university’s hospital get diamond status from the World Stroke Organization in 2023.

In addition, the reception, first aid, treatment and rehabilitation for stroke patients must meet many strict requirements. Neurology and rehabilitation specialists and physical therapists have to coordinate to help patients quickly to recover health, and cognitive and motor skills.

The patients need to observe the treatment prescribed by physicians to prevent recurrence in the next months.

At hospitals in Vietnam, doctors are using Rapid, an AI-based software, to treat strokes. The software assesses images to find the real status of the stroke patients’ brain. 

Ngo Quang Chuc from Quang Ninh Hospital said with Rapid, doctors can clearly see the dead brain areas and the areas that need blood, which allows them to make decisions that restrict complications. 

Chuc said the software is helpful if patients are brought to hospital after the first six ‘golden hours’, or if the moment of stroke cannot be identified.

Linh Giao