The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh has set up an ultra modern ‘Brian Stroke Treatment Unit’ for the treatment of stroke patients. The director of the institute, Ravikant said that a window period of 4.5 hours is very crucial for the stroke patients. “The thrombolytic (clot busting) drugs can be administered during this window period. The earlier the drug is given, the better is the result. Patients arriving after the window period could benefit from mechanical thrombectomy which is removing the thrombus by entering the brain arteries using a catheter,’’ he said. The director added that a neurosciences centre including a ‘Comprehensive Stroke Care Centre’ is on anvil and would soon be operational.
The Additional Professor and Head of Neurology department, AIIMS Rishikesh, Dr Niraj Kumar said “urgent recognition of stroke is essential as every lost second results in further damage to the patient's brain. Paying attention to face, arms, speech and time (FAST) help in early recognition of stroke.”
Elaborating on the symptoms of the disease, he said that sudden deviation of face on one side, drifting down of one arm on raising both arms, slurring of speech or difficulty in understanding commands are some of the indications of stroke.
Dr Niraj said that the preventive measures include having a healthy diet, regular exercise, avoiding smoking and having regular medical check-up in the persons suffering from diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases. He cautioned that the people in the high risk category of stroke should strictly follow social distancing and personal hygiene measures to prevent Covid-19 infection. The virus of the disease is reported to be associated with increased risk of blood clotting.
Stroke
Stroke, also called brain attack, is caused by sudden interruption in blood supply to the brain. Brain is unable to sustain for more than a few seconds without adequate blood supply, resulting in death of brain cells. The most common type of stroke involves blockage of arteries supplying the brain, a less common but equally disabling stroke results due to rupture of these arteries with bleeding inside the brain.