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Strokes
in Canada
This article was published in The West End
Times September 24, 2011.
As the
fourth leading cause of death in Canada, stroke affects
thousands of
people across the country.
Each
year, there are approximately 50,000 strokes in Canada resulting in 16,000 deaths.
That is, one stroke every 10 minutes. A stroke survivor has a 20%
chance of
having another stroke within two years.
About
80% of strokes are ischemic caused
by the interruption of blood flow to the brain due to a blood clot.
About 20%
of strokes are hemorrhagic caused by uncontrolled bleeding in the brain.
About 300,000
Canadians are living with the effects of stroke. I know that I have
recently
talked about strokes but today I want to re-emphasize the importance of
fast
action when symptoms occur.
For every minute delay in treating a
stroke, the
average patient loses 1.9 million brain cells, 13.8 billion synapses,
and 12 km
of axonal fibers. Each hour, in which treatment does not occur, the
brain loses
as many neurons as it does in almost 3.6 years of normal aging.
Canadians spend a total of 3 million days in hospital because
of stroke.
One May evening, George was
walking with his wife when, all of a sudden, he felt an intense
headache coming
on. A few days later, he woke up in the hospital, unable to express
himself or
to understand what others were saying. Simon, a 57-year-old husband and
a
father of two teenagers, was now aphasic. I have had recent calls about
rehabilitation after stroke in the community and I want to talk about
one of
the great difficulties people have…. “Dealing with
Aphasia.”. 30-40% of people who have
suffered from a
stroke have some degree of Aphasia. Aphasia is an acquired language
disorder
due to brain damage. People with Aphasia may have difficulty with
language in
all forms: understanding what others are saying, putting
their thoughts into words, understanding what
is read, writing (with pen and paper and on the computer) and judgment,
or
problem-solving skills. Aphasia can range from mild (sometimes
difficulty
thinking of a word) to severe (little to no ability to speak). All
people with
Aphasia have some degree of difficulty recalling words. This is like
“having
that word right on the tip of the tongue" feeling all of the time.
A person with Aphasia may say
one word but mean to say something else. Individuals with Aphasia find
that
some things are much easier to say than others. The more the person has
to
think about what he/she is saying, the harder it will be. "Automatic"
phrases are generally easier to say because they don't require much
thought or
are over-learned. Some examples are phrases such as "good morning",
"I don't know", "uh oh" and swear words.
Words that are can be difficult
for people with Aphasia are often very close in meaning, opposites, or
can seem
to have abstract meaning. People with Aphasia can mix them up or
substitute one
for another. Some examples include: Man/Woman, Left/Right, Yes/No.
Once we lose the ability to
communicate, life becomes even more difficult. These language problems
have a
serious impact on an individual's personal and professional life, as
well as on
his/her overall functioning in society. Physical changes as a result of
a
stroke are devastating but with time and physiotherapy, we can see
improvements. Dealing with Aphasia is often a much slower process and
we don’t
always have the resources for the necessary long term rehabilitation. Rehabilitation within the healthcare system
for individuals with Aphasia can last anywhere from a couple of months
to a few
years. The Speech-Language Pathologist should take part in that process
through
evaluation and intervention services.
Unfortunately there are not
enough of them and often their attention is focused on children with
speech
difficulties.
What are we going to do about
this huge problem?? You might have already thought about a
solution….More
frequent access to therapists and therapy using, you guessed it,
“Technology.”
Therapists can teach the treatment exercises to other health
professionals and
caregivers and care can be provided on an ongoing, frequent basis. This
can be
done remotely with an occasional follow-up by the speech therapist.
This can
only be possible if we embrace change and believe in the options. To be continued…
What
if it was you or your loved
one?
Thoughts,
comments, suggestions are always
welcome.
Contact me at donna@ashcanada.com
Health Access, Home and Nursing care
514-695-3131
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