Timely action can save lives: Docs

NEW DELHI: Every two seconds a person suffers a stroke and every six seconds a life is lost to stroke somewhere in the world. Also, one in six people will get stroke in their lifetime, say experts, which makes it crucial to generate mass awareness about the condition.

Stroke is when the brain gets damaged because of disruption of blood supply.

“There could be blockage or bleeding that leads to stroke, but normally in 85% of the stroke cases blockage triggers the condition,” says Vinit Suri, senior neurologist, New Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, and president, Indian Stroke Association. The remaining 15% is caused by leakage due to rupture in blood vessels.

Apollo Hospital on Monday will hold a conference on stroke recognition, management and prevention wherein 200 stroke survivors and their attendent’s will share their journey.

In India, the prevalence of ischemic heart disease and stroke has increased by at least 50% from 1990 to 2016, according to data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) last month.

The data was a result of a comprehensive analysis of several major non-communicable diseases as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study that has been published in the popular medical journal The Lancet.

An estimated 1.6 million people suffer a stroke in India each year, with early death rates ranging from 27% to 41%.

The biggest problem that doctors face is patients not making it in time to a hospital for treatment. “A lot of time is wasted between the onset of stroke and receiving treatment and out of many reasons, lack of awareness is a prime one. People don’t even know they are getting a stroke, and for better treatment 4.5 to 6 hours is the ideal time span,” says Deepak Aggarwal, professor, neurosurgery at AIIMS.

“In case the infarct (tissue death due to inadequate blood supply) develops and patient condition deteriorates, then we conduct a surgery,” Aggarwal added.

The earlier the better, say doctors, as 1.9 million neurons are lost with every minute of delay in treatment. However, if treatment is received within golden hour, the damage can be reversed.

“Some of the warnings signs include loss of balance, vision loss, slurred speech, weakness in arms, drooping face. If any of these symptoms appear, rush the person to a doctor, ” said Suri.

And the condition can also be prevented if people follow a healthy lifestyle, including controlling blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and weight, and stopping tobacco use in any form.