The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of stroke survivors of the rehabilitation services received by them in the Jordanian community. A secondary aim was to explore the impact of culture on providing appropriate services for stroke survivors.

Eighteen stroke survivors were recruited from an outpatient stroke rehabilitation programme. All 18 participants had been discharged from hospital for between one and six months. Semi-structured interviews were performed either in the physiotherapy outpatient clinic where the stroke patient was attending a clinic or in their homes. Transcription of interviews carried out in Arabic and thematic analysis was also carried out in that language by transcribers who were fluent in Arabic and English, using a back-translation method. Necessary measures were taken to ensure the accuracy, reliability and validity of the data collection and analysis. (more…)

The biggest cause of stroke is hypertension, or high blood pressure. It is characterized by readings of 140/90 and above. Hypertension causes damage to the major organs, such as the kidneys, heart, and eyes. It can also cause weakened areas in the blood vessels to burst, leading to the leakage of blood into the brain. This results in hemorrhagic stroke.

When vessels narrow and shut off blood supply, this is an Ischemic stroke. It is caused by plaque build up in the arteries or a blood clot that grows to eventually block the artery preventing blood flow to the rest of the brain. These blood clots can come from another part of the body or form in the artery itself. (more…)

The major killers today are heart disease, stroke and cancer and the single biggest cause of these diseases is our unhealthy lifestyles. Recent studies have shown that healthy habits can extend lives and reduce disabilities in old age and good health habits include being able to spot a problem early enough to get it medically treated effectively. The following are the most important warning signs and symptoms we need to watch out for and take urgent action on:

Unexplained weight loss may signal diabetes, depression, chronic infections or in serious cases, cancer.

Chest pain with or without accompanying arm or jaw pain could be a signal of heart disease or even an impending heart attack. (more…)

How is it that as technology advances and new inventions are created to make life easier, more people in the developed world are dying of cancer, heart disease and stroke every year?

The key lies in a lack of Awareness and Action. More people need to know about the links between the lifestyles they lead and how these affect their bodies. But knowledge is nothing if it is not applied. There needs to be the additional effort of acting on the knowledge to make the tough but necessary lifestyle changes that will halt disease and put our overtaxed bodies back on the path to health and wellness.

Creating Awareness

Let’s talk about cholesterol. It is one of the fats in the blood and can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease and stroke. Yet how many people actually know this? We may vaguely “know of” good and bad cholesterol from what we read or hear about in the news, but not many of us will make the connection between what we are eating now on a daily basis and the disease that erupts years down the road. Even fewer will do something about this connection. (more…)