Head – Associate Professor Amanda Thrift
Associate Professor Amanda Thrift and her team of researchers are tracking the long-term progress of a broad cross-section of stroke sufferers. The aim is to improve knowledge about this disease, which accounts for almost 10 per cent of deaths in Australia each year.
Recent figures show that stroke, is the second largest cause of death, and in 2003, there were an estimated 346,700 survivors of stroke. Stroke is the most important manifestation of cerebrovascular disease, disorders in which there is a disturbance of blood supply to the brain. A stroke occurs when blood supply to a part of the brain becomes blocked or bleeds.
Despite the increase in the overall numbers of stroke in our ageing society, and despite general fear of the condition, research on stroke in Australia lags behind heart disease research, according to Baker IDI's head of Stroke Epidemiology, Associate Professor Amanda Thrift. But as with heart disease, early recognition of symptoms and prompt presentation to hospital can make a huge difference to a patient's recovery.
At Baker IDI, a unique study following the progress of stroke sufferers in Melbourne is providing invaluable data on the long-term effects of stroke in the community.
Amanda's team is conducting annual follow-ups in their North-East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS). Amanda's research has tracked the health of 1686 people – aged from two to 102 – who suffered a stroke between May 1, 1996 and April 30, 1999. Since then, their lives have been tracked on an annual basis and information has been gathered on their ongoing healthcare arrangements and their needs.
This project began when Amanda and her team sought information on how many strokes occur in Melbourne and found that here, as in other parts of the country, meaningful data was unavailable.
Amanda's research has important implications for the development of health policy over the next decade. More hospital and nursing home beds will be needed if stroke figures are not reduced. A three per cent reduction in stroke incidence is needed per year just to prevent an increase in the number of strokes we have now into the future.