# Ogniminutoéprezioso, World Day against Brain Stroke

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Weakness on one side of the body, crooked mouth, difficulty speaking or understanding (aphasia), reduced strength of movement in one arm, leg or both, double vision or reduced field of vision, sudden violent headache, confusion, inability to coordinate movements and stay in balance: these are the ‘spy’ symptoms of cerebral stroke, to which World Day is dedicated on 29 October. For the 2021 edition, the World stroke organization wanted to turn the spotlight on how important the timely recognition of symptoms is, launching the theme ‘Minutes can save lives’: that is, minutes can save lives, because when it comes to strokes every waste of time can cause problems. “One in 4 people will have a stroke in their lifetime, but every minute is precious: just think that for every second that is delayed after the stroke, 32 thousand neurons are burned and 1.9 million for every minute”, he recalls , in a note, Andrea Vianello, new president of ALICe. Italia Odv (Association for the fight against cerebral stroke). “Stroke is a time-dependent pathology”, reaffirms Mauro Silvestrini, president of the Italian stroke association (Isa) and head of the Neurological Clinic of Hospitals of Ancona. “The positive results that can be obtained thanks to the available therapies (thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy) – continues Silvestrini are closely linked, in fact, to the early intervention. It is therefore essential to recognize the symptoms as soon as possible and call 112 in order to arrive quickly in hospital. In this way we can think of not only reducing the risk of mortality, but also of avoiding particularly serious strokes, trying to limit future damage and above all the consequences of disability, very often disabling, caused by this disease ” . If even one of the symptoms appears, it is necessary to call 112 or 118 immediately because it is essential that the person is taken as quickly as possible to the hospital, possibly equipped with neurovascular units (Stroke Units), highly specialized for the ” clinical-diagnostic-therapeutic framework and for the best management of the disease, from the acute phase to the ria early neuromotor and cognitive bilitation up to the prevention of possible complications. It is therefore necessary to implement all possible strategies to raise awareness among citizens on the ‘time factor’ because the time window to intervene is contained within the first 4.5, maximum 6 hours, even if a recent study published in the Stroke journal indicates that the space for an effective intervention has now been extended up to 24 hours (but these are cases where brain damage is limited) .ALICe. Italia Odv – the note recalls – has always been engaged in information campaigns to promote knowledge of cerebral stroke and the risk factors that favor its onset, underlining that as much as 80% of all episodes could be avoided, starting from the identification of the conditions on which one can intervene, thanks to appropriate changes in one’s lifestyle, keeping the pathologies that may be causing them adequately under control. Among these, it is necessary to point out Atrial Fibrillation (Fa), a cardiac arrhythmia that affects about 1 million people in our country and is the cause of about 20% of ischemic strokes. “Who is affected by Fa – declares Ciro Indolfi, president of the Italian Society of Cardiology (Sic) – sees an increase of 4 times the risk of thromboembolic stroke, which is generally very serious and disabling because the embolus that starts from the heart closes arteries of larger caliber, with ischemic damage to larger portions of brain; this form of stroke, in fact, causes a mortality of 30% within the first three months of the event and leaves disabling results in at least 50% of patients “. It is therefore of fundamental importance to ‘intercept’ patients with Fa as quickly as possible and to establish anticoagulant therapy to reduce the risk of stroke, once the diagnosis has been made. “The dangerous relationship between stroke and atrial fibrillation was at the center of the awareness campaign ‘Beware of those two’ which ended in recent days after touching Arezzo, Bari, Caserta, Catania, Turin and Vicenza”, says Nicoletta Reale, past president of ALICe. Italia Odv. “Thanks to the unconditional contribution of the Alliance Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer, we were able to carry out, in these 6 cities, involved in a pilot project – he reports – as many as 125 video consultations with neurologists and cardiologists who have been available to citizens to explain what are the best behaviors to adopt in order not to be affected by this disease “.” With the social campaign, designed to raise awareness of the importance of not underestimating the close relationship between heart and brain, we reached almost 800 thousand people – he reports – and obtained over 4,000 interactions. There are also many, almost 4,500, the people who filled out the questionnaire. Unfortunately, however, there is still a long way to go, just think that only 17% answered all the questions correctly. It will therefore be necessary to continue with this type of activity – he continues – expanding more the audience of participants throughout Italy, so that everyone has the opportunity to be informed about the opportunities that medicine offers today in this field “. The cerebral stroke, in our country – finally recalls the note – represents the third cause of death, after cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. Almost 150 thousand Italians are affected every year and half of the survivors remain with serious disability problems. In Italy, people who have had a stroke and survived, with more or less disabling outcomes, are now about 1 million, but the phenomenon is growing both because the population is gradually aging and because of the improvement of currently available therapies. .