A tale of two STROKE

A pair of White Lion Cubs

The 41 year old man, an Administrative Assistant at a school, one day told his wife that he was fed-up of taking medications daily for his high blood pressure. He used to attend a government clinic. Less than a month of stopping medications, he suffered a massive stroke, was in coma for two weeks and died without regaining consciousness. He died about a week after his wife delivered their second child. Being the sole bread winner, such an irresponsible act has deeply affected his family.

A 62 year old man was wheeled in today with signs and symptoms of a stroke. According to his children their father suffered from high blood pressure and had been receiving treatment on an ad hoc basis at private clinics. Without a regular review by a doctor, there is no objective way for a patient to know whether his high blood pressure is under control.

A regular review would entail keeping the present drug regimen or adding a new drug or increasing the dosage of currently used drugs. This is necessary due to the dynamic nature of the condition as one ages. Suffice to say that, an early death or physical incapacity due to stroke brought about by high blood pressure are preventable.