Explainer | World Stroke Day 2021: new treatments show promise, old precautions still stand – exercise, eat healthy meals, drink less alcohol and control blood pressure
- Stroke is the second leading cause of death globally, the leading cause in China and the fourth in Hong Kong, but new treatments can stem its worst effects
- Filmmaker Lotje Sodderland, who suffered a stroke aged 34, continues to make documentaries about them, and about her own ‘life-changing’ experience and recovery
Dutch-French filmmaker Lotje Sodderland didn’t know young people could suffer from a stroke – until she had one herself in 2011, then aged 34. She made it her mission afterwards to understand as much about her own stroke, and strokes broadly, and made a stunning film in recovery.
My Beautiful Broken Brain (2014) is a documentary from executive producer David Lynch about her experience of haemorrhagic stroke.
“I’ve learned a lot about the human brain since my stroke 10 years ago, and know that younger people, even children, can have strokes for a variety of reasons,” Sodderland says.
The word “stroke” comes from the Greek apoplexia which implies being struck by a deadly blow, out of the blue. Strokes are often catastrophic, and terrifyingly common; first-time incidence of stroke occurs almost 17 million times a year worldwide – more than one every two seconds.
Dr Gary Lau, a clinical assistant professor of neurology at the University of Hong Kong, describes the two main types of strokes – ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain is blocked, and haemorrhagic stroke, caused by the rupture of a weakened blood vessel supplying the brain.
“The oxygen supply to the brain is impaired in both types of strokes, which results in a loss of function of brain cells. Ischemic strokes account for around 80 per cent of all strokes,” Lau says ahead of World Stroke Day on October 29.