A challenge for policy makers and a framework for tackling the rising burden of stroke in Europe

Mar 23, 2018

The Stroke Action Plan for Europe 2018 – 2030

A challenge for policy makers and a framework for tackling the rising burden of stroke in Europe

Leaders of the European stroke community met today in Munich to develop the ESO / SAFE Stroke Action Plan for Europe 2018-2030, including leading academics, stroke survivors and caregivers, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and representatives from stroke organisations and the World Health Organisation. It creates an aspirational framework to drive healthcare policy, research priorities, local stroke management and patient-focussed care to meet the need demonstrated in the ESO / SAFE Burden of Stroke report, with €45 billion direct and indirect healthcare costs each year, a 34% increase in strokes by the year 2035 due to the ageing population, and huge variations in the level of stroke care available across Europe. (more…)

PRESTIGE AF: International project launches to prevent stroke in patients with brain bleeding

Mar 19, 2018

A new multi-million Euro initiative funded by the European Commission has been set up to help prevent stroke in patients with existing conditions.

The €6.9m project is aimed at patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart condition which causes irregular and abnormally fast heartbeat, who have previously had a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain (termed intracerebral haemorrhage or ICH). The Prevention of Stroke in intracerebral hemorrhage survivor with Atrial Fibrillation (PRESTIGE-AF) brings together scientists and clinicians across Europe with the goal of reducing the risk of further stroke in this group of patients. (more…)

Webinar: State of the art on acute ischemic stroke systems of care and in-hospital organization

Mar 13, 2018

The webinar will kick-off the State of the Art on how Stroke treatment can be improved by focusing on the organization of the Systems of Care and in the In-Hospital Organization. (more…)

How much does a stroke cost? SAFE is initiating a research project in 33 European countries

Mar 9, 2018

Burden of Stroke Report, 2017

The Stroke Alliance for Europe, as the largest pan-European organisation of stroke patient support organisations and the European Stroke Organisation, the largest European organisation of stroke professionals have increasingly been working together and are committed to sharing expertise and best practice to ensure the best outcomes for stroke patients.

Together we are currently developing the revised Stroke Action Plan for Europe which will be launched in May 2018. SAFE will follow this with the results of our next key piece of commissioned research, the Economic Impact of Stroke in Europe.

The primary goal of this study by a health economics team from the University of Oxford is to increase the priority given to stroke and to reinforce and underpin the influencing of European and country-level policy work already underway as a result of the Burden of Stroke Report. (more…)

EU funded project SVDs@target investigates small vessels in the brain to understand more about the underlying pathologies of stroke and dementia

Mar 5, 2018

Anna Kopczak, MD, study physician & neurologist in SVDs@Target project

Stroke and dementia rank among the most pressing health issues in Europe. Cerebral small vessel diseases (SVDs) have emerged as a central link between these two major co-morbidities. SVDs account for more than 30% of strokes and at least 40% of dementia cases.

They encounter multiple distinct diseases that can be separated based on their underlying genetic defects, risk factors, and clinical presentations. Despite this profound impact on human health, there are no treatments with proven efficacy against SVDs.

SAFE was glad  to have a talk with Anna Kopczak, MD, study physician & neurologist from the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) at Klinikum der Universität München, Munich, Germany. (more…)