2 July 2022
Quote.
A new video series in Pacific languages aims to bust health myths surrounding a stroke.
The first of the nine-episode series was launched at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) on Tuesday as part of Rotuman Language Week.
Every year,10,000 people suffer a stroke in Aotearoa (New Zealand) making it the country's third-biggest killer, responsible for one in 10 deaths.
Rita Krishnamurthi is the Deputy Director of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences at AUT.
She said this neurological brain disease is usually caused by a sudden disruption of blood supply to the brain, and sometimes by bleeding.
It is a leading cause of long-term disability and death worldwide, yet it is largely preventable. And Pacific communities are at particularly higher risk, Associate Professor Krishnamurthi adds.
"More than 60 per cent of Pacific people affected are younger than 65 years, so this also tells us that stroke is not just a disease of the elderly.
"However, we know that almost 90 per cent of strokes can be attributed to a few behavioural and lifestyle risk factors that can be modified or controlled, such as high blood pressure, physical inactivity, consuming less salt and changing food habits, and smoking."
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Source – Radio New Zealand.
Comment
Many people in the Solomon Islands suffer from a stroke and it is hoped this article will help people take the kind of advice the piece raises about lifestyle risks to prevent having a stroke
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
