Expert Hopes Vietnam to Have 200 Stroke Treatment Units in Next Eight Years

Doctor Nguyen Huy Thang, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Stroke Association, has hoped Vietnam to have at least 200 stroke treatment units in the next eight years, with each unit treating 1,000 patients a year.  

Currently, a stroke unit in Vietnam treats over 2,000 patients per year, while in the U.S., it receives only 300 patients, Dr. Thang added.

He cited a study published in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal based in England, as pointing out that Vietnamese people are among the groups with the highest risk of stroke, with the ratio of stroke cases in the country hitting 218 per 100,000 people in 2019.

However, the number of medical facilities to treat the condition in Vietnam has remained limited, he noted.

Since the first stroke treatment unit was established at 115 People's Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in 2005, there are now only 110 facilities nationwide, and most of them are placed in HCMC and Hanoi. (VnExpress English, NLD)