Forty per cent of stroke patients who seek treatment at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital hardly survive.

Records show 233 out of 369 people admitted at the facility for the condition could not survive.

This was revealed at the World Stroke Day marked at Bantama-Kumasi Ashanti Region, under  the  theme "recognizing the risks factors of stroke."

Neurologist, Dr. Fred Stephen Sarfo who made the revelation says the disease currently kills more people than malaria, though there are no records available to immediately compare.

His conclusion is based on the growing number of reported stroke cases from just about 200 a year in the 1980s to 800 in 2016 at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.

Dr. Sarfo attributes the situation to lack of trained personnel and logistics to manage cases in the country.

Ghana presently has only six neurologists; four at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and the other two at Komfo Anokye.

He cited CT scan, hoist machines for lifting of patients, sliding sheet or board and a special bed for proper diagnosis and treatment as some of the equipment in short supply.

The Stroke Unit at KATH has only six beds which officials say are below standard for which on a few patients can be admitted.

Principal Nursing Officer, Dr. Gladys Ghansah, says some patients refuse to take their medication at the early stages for fear of erectile dysfunction.

She says lifestyle; including eating habit is a major cause of stroke.

She appeals to philanthropists and government to support the new stroke unit at KATH.