'Lifebuoy' helps reduce the risk of recurrent stroke

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Mai Duy Ton, Director of the Stroke Center, Bach Mai Hospital, the average hospital stay in the acute phase of a stroke patient is from 4 days (ischemic) and 7 days (cerebral hemorrhage).

Stroke survivors are often transferred from acute care to an inpatient rehabilitation facility, skilled nursing facility, or long-term post-acute care hospital.

However, home is the best place for a stroke patient to be during the recovery process. The best time to recover from a stroke is in the first few months.

Patients will gradually stabilize after 3 to 6 months and a small percentage of cases still have a chance to recover in the next one to two years. Rehabilitation after a stroke is a process that requires perseverance and continuous training.

Associate Professor, Dr. Mai Duy Ton (standing in the middle) examines a patient being treated at the Stroke Center - Bach Mai Hospital.

Experts also said that the rate of stroke recurrence in the first 5 years is 25%. This means that for every 100 patients who survive a stroke, there will be 25 cases of recurrence, mainly in the early stages: 10% in the first week, 15% in 1 month and 18% in 3 months.

Preventive treatment is like a “lifesaver” that significantly reduces the risk of stroke recurrence, up to 80%.

Exercise, play sports

Exercise is an important part of stroke rehabilitation. Patients need to spend 5-10 minutes warming up (including warming up with exercises in bed). Suitable sports include walking outdoors or on a treadmill, cycling in place, walking along a marked path or taking the stairs.

Exercise frequency should be at least 3 times/week (preferably most days of the week). In terms of intensity, on a scale of 10, the patient should exercise at level 4-5. The ideal time for each exercise session is 20-30 minutes.

Use healthy foods

The American Heart and Stroke Association recommends a diet for patients after stroke treatment, which is to increase the diet with more vegetables and fruits, choose whole grain foods, high in fiber, reduce meat in meals so that at least 50% of the diet is fruits and vegetables; 25% is high-fiber grains, eat fish at least 2 times/week (you should choose fish rich in omega 3 such as salmon or tuna).

Avoid drinks and foods with added sugar, choose and prepare foods with salt-free or reduced-salt seasonings and seasoning mixes.

You should also learn how to read food labels, which will help you choose items that have less than 140mg of sodium per serving.

You should limit alcohol as much as possible because it can interact adversely with some medications that patients are taking to prevent stroke recurrence (such as warfarin). Alcohol abuse will increase blood pressure, thereby increasing the risk of stroke recurrence.

Associate Professor Mai Duy Ton recommends that after a stroke, patients often feel tired and have difficulty concentrating or performing physical activities.

The patient should begin by working part-time, then review the work performance to decide. The patient is the best judge of whether to return to work (unless they have severe cognitive impairment and disability).

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