site.btaAssociation Urges Politicians and Public to Adopt More Responsible Attitude to Stroke

The Sofia-based Association for Stroke and Aphasia (ASA) has called on Bulgaria's politicians and every citizen to be responsible and engaged in their attitude to stroke. The call was issued on European Stroke Awareness Day, which this year is on May 14.

ASA noted in a statement that the stroke situation in Bulgaria is "horrifying", much worse than the average standard in Europe. It said the country lacks well-coordinated, accessible, quality care for stroke survivors. For more than half a century, Bulgaria has had the highest stroke incidence and the highest mortality associated with this condition in Europe.

Although in 2021 Bulgaria committed itself to implementing the Stroke Action Plan for Europe on ASA's initiative, the nation still lacks a strategic document setting out clear, measurable and significant steps to deal with stroke, the association said. "We consider it irresponsible and unacceptable to spend another year of inaction and thus cause 50,000 more Bulgarians a kind of suffering which is preventable and treatable," the statement said.

ASA called for a national screening campaign targeting at-risk groups, efforts to minimize risk factors such as smoking, obesity and hypertension, and a national programme for raising people's health literacy. It also recommended revising salt content standards, especially for bread and other baked foods and pasta, and limiting the sale of energy drinks, drinks with added substances and foods with high carbohydrate  content around schools.

Furthermore, ASA stressed the importance of providing equal and timely access to up-to-date, quality treatment for the acute phase of stroke, regulating the access of stroke patients' families to social assistance to ensure a good quality of life in the patients' homes, effectively monitoring stroke survivors to prevent further incidents, and making rehabilitation services more accessible. The list includes a total of 20 recommendations.