Stroke management in India

Dr NR Ichaporia, HOD-Department of Neurology, Jehangir Hospital Pune, spoke about stroke management and how public health workers can save lives of several patients at the golden hour.

He began by explaining how a paralytic brain stroke occurs and went on to say that very few people in India know what is a brain stroke.

“People are very much aware of heart attack but they are less aware of brain stroke; therefore, it is important to term it as brain attack rather than stroke. In this case, brain cells die and cannot be revived. And these have very serious consequences. Among the non-communicable diseases, brain stroke is the third common killer in India after cancer and heart attack. Around 7.5 lakh people die in India every year due to brain stroke. One in five or one in six people will suffer a stroke which means every Indian family will have at least one stroke patient. In India we have 3000-4000 strokes everyday and last year we treated 13,500 patients using thrombosis. What is worry is that, most stroke patients in India are in their prime of life, which means a huge economic loss to the nation. But the good news is that there is a growth rate of around 30 per cent in treatment of stroke each year. Now in order to further this growth, we need the help of physicians”, he stated.

Dr Ichaporia then informed that a large number of people suffering from stroke do not get the medical aid that they require and have poor access to healthcare services. Statistics show that last year around 136,000 patients did not go to the hospital at all and even if some patients go to the hospital the type of treatment that they received was poor.

He further urged the audience to understand the criticality of the situation and informed that there is a need to upgrade our ambulance services. “Luckily, we are getting systematic with the 108 ambulance service. However, it is important to note that most among these patients are not transported to the right hospital. Hence, there is a need to equipment government hospitals with treatment facilities or make them stroke ready. It is important for hospitals to understand that stoke management means time.

One large stroke ages the person for about 36 years older. So a 50-year-old man in 12 hours will become a 86-year-old man. That is the intensity of stroke and that’s why time play a significant role in its management”, he added.

At the end, Dr Ichaporia stressed upon the need for a team effort for stroke management in India. He reminded the four main elements to stroke management — effective bed sores treatment, DVT prophylaxis, checking for swallowing issues among patients and keeping the temperature low.