Five things you need to know about high blood pressure and stroke

Why is high blood pressure referred to as a ‘silent killer’?

The healthcare community often refers to hypertension as a ‘silent killer’ and as harsh as the term sounds, it can become true if blood pressure goes unmonitored and unmanaged. Some patients with hypertension won’t have any visible symptoms to signal that they have a health problem.²

However, a different story is occurring inside the body. Untreated hypertension can cause damage to arteries – they can get clogged and in the most serious cases, the artery may burst.¹

Are there different types of strokes?

Yes, there are several different types of strokes.³ The one thing that they have in common is that they can be caused by high blood pressure.²

• An ischemic stroke occurs when there is a blockage of blood flow to the brain, usually caused by a blood clot or another substance such as plaque.³
  
• A haemorrhagic stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures, causing blood to leak out of the vessel and into the surrounding brain tissue. One type of weakened blood vessel is an aneurysm. An aneurysm occurs when part of a blood vessel becomes weak and fills with blood, causing the vessel to balloon or bulge.³

How are strokes treated?

A stroke generally happens suddenly and medical care needs to be administered as quickly as possible. To help keep this top of mind, we use the acronym B.E. F.A.S.T. which identifies signs of a stroke. The best course of treatment depends on the type of stroke, the patient’s age, the severity of the stroke and other risk factors.

How has patient care in stroke treatment evolved over the past 10 years?

Improving stroke care starts before and goes beyond the point of treatment. Programmes like our SKILL Medical Education create dynamic experiences that bring learning to the cutting edge and help physicians continuously increase their skills and stroke practice.

We’re also committed to helping physicians address the challenges of stroke management with programmes like StrokEnomics, where our team equips healthcare teams with the highest level of clinical and economic data to formulate strategies that help them navigate funding barriers. Through this programme, healthcare systems increase patient access to the best treatment modalities and quality of care.