Aurelius Hospital Nilai Advised The Public To Act ‘BEFAST’ For Early Detection Of Strokes
Every second counts – that is what happens if you have symptoms or are dealing with an emergency with a stroke patient. As time goes on, this life-threatening situation may become worse. Thus, it is better to keep in mind that “prevention is better than cure”.
Stroke is the main cause of death and disability in Malaysia. For your information, the number of deaths due to stroke has increased to 50,000 cases annually compared to previous years. The faster you act will determine the appropriate treatment you will receive. Therefore, plan your health checkup regularly and quickly get your diagnosis if you or your loved ones have any symptoms that are related to stroke disease.
Recently, the management of Aurelius Hospital Nilai (AHN), led by its founder and group managing director as well as chairman of Aurelius Healthcare, Dato Amir Firdaus Abdullah, hosted an interactive media luncheon that was open only to invited media personnel.
Joanna Tighe, CEO of AHN, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Sobri, a neurointerventional radiologist; Dr. Rajendra Rao, a consultant neurosurgeon; Dr. Terence Leslie De Silva, medical director and emergency physician of AHN; and Adeline Abdul Ghani, group director of marketing and corporate communications at Aurelius Healthcare, are also in attendance.
Officially known as Nilai Medical Centre, Aurelius Hospital Nilai (AHN) is situated in the center of Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. It was founded in 1999 and was Malaysia’s first private specialist hospital. It was renamed as Aurelius Hospital Nilai upon its 2021 merger with Aurelius Healthcare.
With a team of comprehensive medical and management professionals, Aurelius Healthcare specializes in managing tertiary and private healthcare and providing top-notch healthcare solutions. It specialized in providing the highest caliber of healthcare delivery worldwide, whether it be through the construction of new facilities or the modernization of current ones.
According to Dato Amir, the Chairman of Aurelius Healthcare, the multidisciplinary private hospital, which has 100 beds, is poised to establish itself as a full-service private hospital serving the needs of the Nilai community and beyond. Speaking on the topic of “Time is Brain”, Dato Amir discussed the frequency of strokes in young adults and children during the media engagement session. It was stated that everyone can have a stroke, even adults and children, although some people are more susceptible than others.
On this interactive luncheon, the knowledge and implication of Stroke were articulated, which Dr. Rajendra defined ‘Stroke’ in his talk as “Rapidly developing clinical signs of focal (or global) disturbance of cerebral function, with symptoms lasting 24 hours or longer or leading to death, with no apparent cause other than of vascular origin“.
Dr. Rajendra added that, strokes can be classified into two major categories which are Ischaemic stroke (85%) and Haemorrhagic stroke (15%) while 10-15 % of all strokes of younger adults (age 18-50) are prevalence due to the risk factors for ischaemic stroke. The risk factors include hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, obesity, diabetes mellitus, migraine, pregnancy and postpartum, oral contraceptives, illicit drug use and hypercoagulable state.
Meanwhile, this can be prevented by adjusting with healthy lifestyle and proper diet. Always remember that, whenever in doubts, ask opinion with the subject matters. Never assume any symptoms that derived as a sign that can be taken lightly. Always investigate and follow the ‘FAST’ rule, an acronym for Face, Arm, Speech and Time.
Simple rule to follow – Do you think that “The face looks uneven?” and “One arm hanging down?”, that accompany with slurred speech, please act fast and call 911 as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Dr Terence highlighted on the Recognition of Stroke and Activation of Emergency Response System “Time is Brain”, which explained that a blood clot or rupture can block a blood vessel that supplies the brain with oxygen and nutrients, resulting in stroke. In this case, brain cells die because of a portion of the brain losing access to blood and oxygen when that occurs.
Dr Terence said, there are two main causes of stroke: a clot that blocks blood flow to the brain (ischemic stroke) accounts for 87% of cases, and a blood vessel rupture that stops blood flow to the brain (hemorrhagic stroke) accounts for 13% of cases. In the meantime, temporary ischemic clots are the cause of TIAs, also known as “mini strokes.”
To prevent this from happening, Dr Terence advised the public to act BEFAST for early detection of strokes.
“When emergency occurs, the patient should be kept “nil by mouth” during this time and do not give them water or anything to swallow as this could cause further complications that could result in death. If the patient is unconscious, roll them to a recovery position. Do not wait and please contact 911 immediately,” said Dr Terence.
According to Dr Terence, since “Time is Brain”, the patient will be treated swiftly in Aurelius Hospital. As the life of the patient comes first, Aurelius Hospital can handle emergency situations by offering professional ambulance services with nurses and staff with prompt treatment guaranteed. All other factors like registration and payment are secondary.
Elaborated further, Dato Amir said that the patient’s life is of utmost importance, and the hospital policy does not condone anything otherwise. Prof. Dr. Sobri discussed with the audience on “Advancements in Stroke Diagnosis & Treatment” at the end of the session.
The development of the Aurelius Healthcare brand will offer premier facilities and catering to the affordable segment with the balance of tertiary and quaternary healthcare management and services, along with Ambulatory Care Centers (ACC) will undoubtedly bring you a sense of tranquility and peace of mind.
Visit the website www.aureliushealth.com/nilai/ or give 06-8505 000 a call for additional information.
