Burden of Stroke in Myanmar

Myanmar is home to over 51 million people. The age- and sex-standardized mortality rate due to stroke is 165.4/100,000, while the rate of age- and sex-standardized disability-adjusted life years lost due to stroke is 2971.3/100,000. The prevalence of stroke among adults aged 40–99 years is 1.5%. Stroke is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality and comprises 20% of the neurological workload. There are only 10 stroke units in the whole country. Doctors are aware of the importance of hypertension in stroke prevention and the need for physiotherapy after stroke, but, until recently and in rural areas, they also tend to use steroids and neuroprotectants, and lower blood pressure aggressively acutely after stroke; antiplatelets are not widely used. Thrombolysis service is available at some tertiary centers but mechanical thrombectomy is not yet available.