Yesterday, more than 50 people including senior citizens and stroke care-givers were given tips on how to mitigate several “hidden” risk factors of stroke which are beyond the well-known “triple highs” of high cholesterol, high blood pressure or high blood sugar.
They were attending a talk on “Fear Factors of Stroke – How to overcome them” in conjunction with the upcoming World Stroke Day at the Care Concierge Clubhouse at Jaya One here.
The event was hosted by senior living specialist Care Concierge at The Clubhouse at Jaya One PJ in collaboration with RENN Asia Wellness with the support of the National Stroke Association of Malaysia (NASAM).
Care Concierge CEO Martin Yap stated that the talk also marked the beginning of Care Concierge’s collaboration with RENN Asia Wellness, a centre specialising in personalised, evidence-based nutritional and functional medicine (NFM). “This partnership aligns with our mission to make adjunctive stroke care more accessible, both for our clients receiving care in their home environment and for our residents in our nine Assisted Living Centres across Klang Valley and Penang,” he said.
CEO and founder of RENN Asia Wellness Jonathan Chew, in welcoming this collaboration, said his centre would provide on-site services of a functional doctor on a regular basis to support the stroke care offered at Care Concierge locations in Klang Valley.
“This is a great initiative by Care Concierge to offer NFM services to their clients as it shows the standard of care and service excellence. On our part, we’re certain our personalised and evidence-based approach will prove to be a tremendous boon to the treatment and care for strokes,” Jonathan said.
Martin hoped today’s talk which saw many questions from the floor would be the start of a productive collaboration between the two companies.
He said there was an urgent need for increased public awareness around stroke prevention, particularly as Malaysia sees a rise in non-communicable diseases due to lifestyle and dietary factors.
Care Concierge, as the specialist in senior living care, is very much concerned over stroke incidence as about 40% of all stroke cases in Malaysia involved those aged 65 years and above.
The talk, delivered by Jonathan, covered little-known risk factors like arterial stiffness and blood markers for ferritin and homocysteine.
“Of course, everyone knows of the ‘triple highs’ of cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. Our role is to draw attention to these lesser known factors that have been proven to cause stroke.
“More importantly, we advise those who have issues with these ‘fear factors’ on what they can do to overcome their problems. Ultimately, we have the solution for them.
“Many people live in fear of stroke especially when heart disease runs in their families but do not know how to mitigate their risk of getting stroke. I’m confident my talk has given the participants an idea of how to control these risk factors and eventually overcome them,” he added.
Jonathan added that RENN Asia Wellness would continue to work with Care Concierge to broaden public understanding of these critical issues and general health and well-being.
“The combination of our NFM approach, which focuses on evidence-based natural regenerative treatments, and Care Concierge’s expertise in eldercare solutions will significantly enhance the quality of life for stroke patients.
“This partnership aims to provide specialised care, ensuring that the elderly receive the best medical treatment they need, whether in their own homes or at Care Concierge’s assisted living facilities,” he said.
T. Kathiravan, Head of Rehabilitation at NASAM, outlined the association’s rehabilitation efforts for stroke survivors, reinforcing the importance of ongoing support and recovery solutions.
“According to the statistics department, stroke was the third most common cause of death in Malaysia last year. Defined as the silent killer, stroke is something that we shouldn’t take lightly. Our objective at NASAM is to create awareness that stroke incidence can be reduced. Early rehabilitation reduces long-term dependency, and there is life after stroke.
“It is our duty to inform the public that there is still life after stroke through proper rehabilitation and to promote stroke prevention,” Kathiravan said.
Also present to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two companies was Dato’ Sri Steve Yap, President of both the Federation of Complementary and Natural Medicine Associations Malaysia and the Association of Nutritional & Functional Medicine Practitioners Malaysia. He later delivered a keynote address on “Nutritional & Functional Medicine in Stroke Prevention.”
