Shanghai doctor given key international role in stroke treatment

A doctor from Shanghai has been appointed co-chair of the World Stroke Organization’s pre-hospital medical committee.

The committee, a new branch of the organization, is made up of seven leading medical experts on stroke prevention and control, at home and abroad.

Dr Zhao Jing, from the Minhang District Central Hospital at Fudan University, will share the role with Liu Renyu, from the University of Pennsylvania.

The two co-chairs will work with the seven experts to explore key issues in prehospital services for stroke treatment.

The World Stroke Organization is the only international organization focused on the prevention, treatment and control of stroke.

Stroke accounts for one-fifth of deaths in China and is one of the major arterial diseases with high incidence, high mortality, high disability rate, and high relapses.

The first 4.5 hours after a stroke is the key time for effective rescue and recovery. When a person has a stroke, every second that passes is crucial as brain tissue and neurons begin to disappear, experts say.

So, Chinese experts have focused on pre-hospital stroke intervention in recent years and promoted education to raise awareness of stroke identification.

“Many patients and families fail to identify strokes on time and miss out on the best treatment opportunity,” said Zhao, who has been involved in stroke education for many years.

She worked with her team to develop short videos to promote public education and organize training for community physicians, residents and students.