The head of physiotherapy department at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in the Western region has expressed worry over the growing number of cases of stroke in there, over the past seven years.

She said the incidence of stroke has increased overwhelmingly from 13.1% in 2011 to 36.4% in 2018 in the region, a worrying situation the region must combat as soon as possible. She was speaking to Joy News during a day workshop organised by Stroke Aids Foundation for stroke patients on the theme ‘Stroke, the silent killer, all you need to know’. Rhodaline Okai explains that the insufficient number of physiotherapists in the Western Region has contributed to this increase. “In the Western region, we don’t have a lot of physiotherapist centres,” she lamented. The situation is not different at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where doctors are alarmed at the recent increase in cases of stroke in the country. According to them, there has been a considerable increase in young people developing strokes and this has become alarming. Neurologist at the Stroke Unit, Dr David Broddie-Mends, explained that people even as young as 13 are now developing strokes. Explaining the worrying trend, he said it is because, “people have very busy lifestyles, we’re having more stress, and we’re having higher level hypertension.” People aged 55 or older are known to have a higher risk of stroke than do younger people but doctors at the country’s biggest referral hospital say the narrative has changed. Globally it is expected that 1 out of 4 people is expected to get a stroke, that is 25% of the world’s population. In Ghana stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability in adults.