Stroke, also known as stroke, is divided into cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage, and is the most common major chronic disease. Surveys show that in China, one person suffers a stroke every 12 seconds, and one person dies of a stroke every 21 seconds, with about 2.7 million new patients with cerebrovascular disease each year, and the trend continues to rise each year, especially in rural areas. According to the report, the incidence rate of stroke in the Chinese population is significantly higher than the world average, and the incidence rate of stroke in men ranks 3rd in the world, while that in women ranks 2nd. Cerebrovascular disease, with its high incidence, recurrence and disability rates, has become a major disease that seriously impedes China’s social and economic development, and as China’s population continues to age, the burden of this disease is becoming increasingly serious. Hypertension is the most important factor contributing to stroke. Surveys have shown that China is the country with the youngest incidence of stroke. The age of onset of stroke in western countries is about 73-75 years old, while the average age of onset of stroke in China is 63-65 years old. Moreover, the incidence rate of stroke in China has been increasing linearly since 2000. Hypertension is the most important risk factor for stroke, and the risk of stroke in hypertensive patients is 4 to 6 times higher than that in normal people. Currently, there are 270 million hypertensive patients in China, but the awareness, treatment and control rates of hypertension are not satisfactory, especially the control rate is less than 10%. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the incidence of stroke in the United States, on the other hand, has begun to show a downward trend, especially in recent years, showing a significant acceleration of the downward trend. The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association have organized a systematic analysis by experts of the possible causes of the decline in stroke mortality in the United States since 1900, and have concluded that these significant changes over the past several decades are largely attributable to the control of high blood pressure. Stroke Prevention Is More Important Than Treatment Two Levels of Prevention Are Key Stroke prevention is more important than treatment, and research evidence suggests that more than 80 percent of strokes can be prevented early by controlling risk factors. According to experts, there are two levels of stroke prevention: primary prevention and secondary prevention. Primary prevention The primary prevention of stroke is to strictly control high blood pressure and high blood sugar under the guidance of a doctor, reduce body weight, strictly stop smoking, limit the amount of alcohol consumed, maintain sufficient physical activity every week, and maintain good living habits. Secondary prevention The secondary prevention of stroke is to avoid recurrence of stroke through medication or other treatments after the stroke has occurred. In addition to continuing to control risk factors, the main medications that need to be taken are antithrombotic drugs, such as aspirin and clopidogrel. These medications must be taken under the guidance of a physician and should be followed up in the hospital on a regular basis to avoid discontinuing or reducing the dosage without the guidance of a physician. Key to Stroke Rescue: Early Symptom Recognition Once a stroke occurs, if it is not detected and treated in a timely manner, it will leave serious lifelong disabilities or even death. The first step in stroke treatment is to quickly determine whether a stroke has occurred, so as to gain time for rescue. The main manifestations of stroke can be judged by the following phenomena: 1. Sudden drooling at the corner of one side of the mouth, inability to speak or slurred speech. 2. Sudden loss of strength in one arm or leg (left or right) (inability to lift, walk or stand, or hold things). 3. Sudden numbness or lack of consciousness on one side of the face. 4. Sudden dizziness, blurred vision or double vision. 5. Sudden onset of severe headache. 6. Sudden loss of consciousness. Whenever any of the above situations occurs, regardless of the duration of the symptoms, you should call 120 emergency number or go to a medical institution with a “stroke center” as soon as possible. The key to stroke treatment: the golden 4.5 hours Once a stroke occurs, call 120 as soon as possible and quickly transfer the patient to a stroke center for treatment. Stroke, especially ischemic stroke, can be effectively treated in a very short window of time, only in the “golden 4.5 hours” after the onset of the disease, and some stroke centers with more advanced equipment can extend it to the “golden 6 hours”, and if you miss this window of time, you will miss the chance of thrombolytic therapy forever. If this window of time is missed, the patient will miss the opportunity of thrombolytic therapy forever. According to the recommendation of foreign guidelines for stroke treatment, the time for patients with cerebral infarction to start intravenous thrombolysis should be controlled within 60 minutes from the time they enter the door of the hospital, and the average time in Europe is 68 minutes, while the average time in our country has reached 116 minutes, which is almost twice as much as that of the developed countries, and in addition to completing the various examinations, there are a lot of delay in the decision-making process as to whether or not the patients or their family members agree to the thrombolytic treatment. Even within the “golden 4.5 hours”, it is not possible to arbitrarily delay the time, a minute earlier thrombolysis, can reduce the death of 2 million nerve cells, thus greatly reducing the possibility of lifelong disability.