Egypt, Cairo - 19 October 2017: Under the patronage of the Ministry of Health, Boehringer Ingelheim,  one of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies globally , held a press conference on the side lines of the MENA Stroke Conference. The press conference hosted local, regional and international speakers showcased the achieved milestones of the National Program for Stroke Treatment in Egypt, a state- sponsored program in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim announced back in June 2016. The program aims to decrease fatalities and adverse health effects caused by stroke cases in Egypt, as well as the significant economic burden caused by disability results and increased level of mortality. In recognition of the World Stroke Day, the conference raised awareness of how ‘every second counts’ once a diagnosis is made and the key practices adopted to save stroke patients. According to the World Health Organization stroke is ranked as the second cause of death in Egypt.

Dr. Magd Fouad Zakaria, Professor and Head of Neurology Department at Ain shams and Head of the National Stroke committee with the Ministry of Health said: “The risk of the stroke in Egypt is significantly high. The National Program for Stroke Treatment has collaborated efforts since 2016 that resulted in increasing the number of hospitals that provide stroke treatment by 57%, and increasing the number of stroke units by more than 200%. This makes Egypt the number one country in the MENA region having the highest number of stroke units thrombolysis. However, Egypt still also has the highest rate of stroke patients regionally”.

By the end of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim aims to open 53 new stroke units across the nation in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. It’s also worth mentioning that the National Program for Stroke Treatment currently covers 17 governorates and aims to reach all 27 governorates during the same period.

Dr. Hany Aref, Professor of Neurology at Ain Shams University and President of the MENA Stroke Congress said: “The treatment has proven to be the most effective intervention method. It significantly reduces post stroke conditions and definitely saves lives. There are around 270,000 stroke patients per year in Egypt. We currently have done lots of achievements and research papers to better manage the stroke serves in Egypt in collaboration with the Ministry of health and the university hospitals; however, we are still facing a lot of challenges naming health care professionals training, awareness and patients reaching hospitals FAST and in the right time”.

Dr. Mohamed EL Dababy, General Manager and Head of Human Pharma, Near East Middle East and Africa (NEMEA), Boehringer Ingelheim said: “We are proud of the achievements of the National Program for Stroke Treatment in Egypt, and the support of the Ministry of Health is an integral part of its success. We are currently working with the Ministry and all stakeholders to build on our accomplishments, not only to increase the number of stroke units across Egypt and thrombolysis ratio, but to also decrease the door-to-needle time until we can save every person suffering from a stroke. Strokes are among the leading causes of death in Egypt and are increasingly becoming a challenging public health issue which we aim to change.”

Angels Initiative, which is part of a global program, is currenlty implemented in the region to enhance stroke management, in collaboration with regional stroke specialists and neurologists, aimed to implement a protocol that facilitates acute care across the region. The MENA Stroke Initiative which joined the Angeles program supports doctors through the “Train the Trainer” educational program for stroke management, which since last year trained 1000 doctors to date in Egypt and targets an 800 additional doctors by end of 2018. Doctors who receive the training are in turn qualified to train other doctors in their hospitals, creating a powerful spill-over effect in knowledge transfer.

Dr. Mohamed EL Dababy added: “Supported by Boehringer Ingelheim’s advanced technical and technological know-how, we are extremely passionate about helping Egypt’s National Program for Stroke Treatment, which is why we’ve almost tripled the number of stroke units nationwide between 2016 and 2017. Our goal is to push Egypt’s thrombolysis rates to the worldwide best practice level of an average of 18-20%”.

Neurologists at the MENA Stroke Congress discussed immediate treatment on occurrence to save lives, reduce door-to-needle time, and encourage better patient outcomes.

Symptoms of stroke can include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arms or legs on one side of the body, as well as speech impairment, trouble with eye sight, loss of balance as well as severe headache. Experts stressed that F.A.S.T is an easy way to remember the sudden signs of stroke, which reflects Face Dropping, Arm Weakness, Speech Difficulty and Time to call for support.

The longer a stroke remains untreated, the greater is the chance of stroke related brain damage. Emergency medical treatment soon after symptoms begin improves the chance of survival and effective rehabilitation. The Angeles initiative aims to implement stroke units within hospitals to reduce the burden of stroke disability by improving the level and speed of care the team is able to provide.

Rapid diagnosis to determine the stroke and immediate medical treatment (in less than 60 minutes, known as the Golden Hour) will reduce chances of further complications. A dedicated stroke unit in hospitals, with a committed medical setting and physicians, specialized nurses, and other ancillary personnel with ample training and experience in stroke management can further reduce the home-to-treatment time.

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Notes to the editor:

About Boehringer Ingelheim

Innovative medicines for people and animals have for more than 130 years been what the research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim stands for. Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the industry’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies and to this day remains family-owned. Day by day, some 50,000 employees create value through innovation for the three business areas human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing. In 2016, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of around 15.9 billion euros. With more than three billion euros, R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.6 per cent of net sales.

Social responsibility comes naturally to Boehringer Ingelheim. That is why the company is involved in social projects, such as the “Making More Health” initiative. Boehringer Ingelheim also actively promotes workforce diversity and benefits from its employees’ different experiences and skills. Furthermore, the focus is on environmental protection and sustainability in everything the company does. More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found on www.boehringer-ingelheim.com