Leading neurologist and associate director department of Neurology Max Hospital Dehradun, Dr Deepak Goyal, has said that about 22 percent population of Uttarakhand is suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure) which makes them prone to stroke. While addressing the media persons here on Friday, he said that 17 percent of the people in India suffer from hypertension while it is as high as 40 percent in the metro cities of the country.
Dr Goyal, further, said that stroke does not discriminate among people. “It afflicts people of any age group, any social strata and either gender. Alarmingly enough, 12% of these strokes in India are occurring in persons aged less than 40 years. 50% of strokes occur due to diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol,” he added
Dr Anand Mohan Thakur, senior consultant, Department Of Neurosurgery, said that the important thing about stroke is time. “Time is paramount as every second following a stroke, 32,000 brain cells die. To prevent permanent disability, medical care and therapy should be initiated at the earliest,” he added.
The media conference was held on the day as part of an awareness campaign on the need of immediate medical care for a stroke patient as a prelude to the observance of World Stroke Day on October 29.
The doctors present there said that stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic due to bleeding. A stroke can render the affected part of the brain non-functional, they said.
They, further, said that in India, very less number of stroke patients receives treatment within time either due to inability to identify symptoms at the right time or to reach a medical facility in time.
Dr Rahul Prashad, medical superintendent, Max Hospital, Dehradun said, “Only 3% of the eligible stroke patients receive thrombolytics to dissolve clots as the stroke-struck people rarely make up to hospital in time. We need to make a conscious effort to sensitise people about stroke. A heightened awareness and developed understanding can help eliminate many disabilities due to stroke.”