Salma’s husband is running behind the neurologists at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, with her scan reports in his hand. In a distant corner, a woman is lodged on a wheel chair with three children clinging to her ‘Dupatta’. This woman is Salma ( 35) with her right side completely paralysed.
In medical parlance, stroke is a condition which results in dysfunction of the brain due to interruption of blood supply into the brain. In lay terms, it is known as a ‘brain attack’ similar to the more familiar heart attack. Stroke always strikes as a bolt from the blue and timely action is required to limit the damages.
Salma suffered a brain stroke, survived but got disabled. It was a usual day for this housewife, till she felt excruciating pain in her left arm, when in the evening she held her youngest one. She complained about the pain to her husband and said about the numbness of her hand only to suffer a brain stroke later, because, the husband ignored her.
Dr S Prabhakar, head of department Neurology, PGI says, “Stroke is the second leading cause of death world wide. It is shocking to see that people are aware about heart strokes, but most people in India neglect the initial symptoms of a brain stroke.”
“Due to delay in treatment and early detection symptoms in a brain stroke patient, almost 65 per cent who suffer it are permanently disabled. Out of hundred, almost ten people die and the recovery rate is around 35 per cent, added Dr Khurana.
Salma sadly met the fate of the 65 per cent who are permanently disabled. All she is worried about now is her three small children who are helpless, and a careless husband who still thinks that this disease runs in his wife’s family and trying his level best to confirm the same from the doctors. For disabled Salma, ‘Talak, Talak and Talak’ can come anytime in addition to her present predicament, a result of sheer negligence.
During a brain attack, time is of essence. With each passing minute, 1.9 billion brain cells are permanently damaged. What makes time even more important is that, this damage can be limited by timely institution of therapy. For centuries, there was no effective therapy for stroke. Currently, intravenous anti thrombotic agents are the standard care for acute stroke. When administered to carefully selected patients within the first 4.5 hours of stroke, this therapy helps stroke patients recover much faster.
“Unfortunately, only a fraction of patients who are eligible and may benefit from this therapy are able to reach hospitals that offer this treatment on time. Many factors contribute to this barrier, foremost of this being lack of awareness among the general public as well as medical practitioners,” said Dr Dheeraj Khurana, Additional Professor Neurology, PGI.
With increase in aging population and prevalence of vascular risk factors, stroke incidence is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years. Annual incidence of stroke in India has risen from 13 per 100,000 populations in 1967-69 to 145 per 100,000 populations in 2003-06.
Every year, 1.4-1.6 million new strokes happen in India with 0.63 million deaths. Around 12 per cent of these strokes occur in persons younger than 40 years of age. Risk factors for stroke include increasing age, male sex, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, obesity and sedentary lifestyle, say experts of PGI.
“Of all strokes, more than 70 per cent are due to a clot in a blood vessel supplying the brain while the rest are due to bleeding from these vessels. A large stroke may lead to a life threatening situation acutely. Smaller strokes may still leave the patient with significant functional impairment. With increase in aging population and prevalence of vascular risk factors, stroke incidence is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years,” said Dr Khurana.