31 year old Sunita (name changed), an IT professional, was brought to Umrao Hospitals, Mira Road, with a sudden attack of ‘unbearable’ headache and vomiting. 50 year old Suryakant (name changed), a businessman, was brought to the hospital by his wife when she realized that all of a sudden his speech had become incoherent and garbled. 45 year old Netra (name changed), a housewife, had a sudden loss of power in her left hand. She couldn’t lift it at all. 65 year old Neeraj, a diabetic and high BP patient, suffered a sudden attack of paralysis on the left side of the body and was rushed to the hospital by his family.
“All these persons came from diverse backgrounds, professions and age groups. But each one of them had suffered a ‘Brain Stroke’, which is a potentially life-threatening condition and the largest cause of disability world –wide. Survivors may face the prospect of being paralysed or be left with severe speech / visual disabilities” according to Dr Harleen Luther, Neurosurgeon at Umrao Hospitals. “Stroke or ‘Brain Attack’ is assuming alarming proportions, affecting even the under 60 population regularly, which was unheard of a few years ago”, he added, while briefing the press about ‘Stroke Week’ organized for the general public by the Umrao Hospitls,on the occasion of World Stroke Day - on the 29th of October.
Stroke can occur either because of a clot obstructing a blood vessel or haemorrhage (bleeding) from one of the blood vessels of the brain. Tertiary care hospitals like Umrao Hospitals have a specific program for managing stroke patients. A quick CT scan reveals the cause – whether blood clot or bleeding. This is followed by highly specialized clot buster treatment for dissolving the blood clot or delicate surgery for sealing off the bleeding vessel. “It is vital that family members / colleagues / friends should recognize the symptoms early and shift the patient,within four and a half hours of the first symptoms of stroke, to a hospital that has a CT Scan / Diffusion MRIas well as a Stroke unit. If this is achieved we can successfully treat clot related strokes (Ischemic Stroke) by administering a clot bursting drug called TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator). The earlier the patient undergoes the treatment, the greater are the chances of a complete reversal of the effects of stroke” Dr Harleen added.
Time is precious and the chain of survival includes early recognition of the signs of stroke, shifting patient to a suitable hospital quickly, a rapid radiological evaluation followed immediately by specific treatment within four and a half hours of the first symptoms of stroke. TIME IS BRAIN !!
“At Umrao we have facilities for advanced CT & MR perfusion imaging, which tells us within seconds about the blood flow in the brain. This enables us to take the patient up immediately for specific treatment, without wasting time,” informed Dr Ruchira Marwah, Head of Radiology.
“Stroke is characterized by it’s sudden onset symptoms – drooping of the face, incoherent, garbled speech, paralysis of one side of the body or loss of power in the limbs, ‘unbearable’ headache with vomiting. Many patients experience these sudden onset symptoms momentarily and the symptoms subside in a few minutes. These are early signs of stroke, called ‘Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)’. These are invariably followed by a full blown crippling stroke, which can and should be prevented” informed Dr Harleen.
“Poor lifestyle like frequent eating of fast foods, little or no exercise, overweight, high stress levels are responsible for stroke. Smoking is a high risk factor and insufficiency of Vitamin B12, commonly seen in pure veg diets, is another significant risk factor for stroke. The presence of high BP and / or Diabetes also increases the risk for stroke”, Dr. Harleen added.
“For the chain of survival to be maintained, every link has to be known and understood and effective steps have to be taken in time. For this we have organized a Stroke week during which, we will be sensitizing our own staff and holding a free public awareness event on the 3rd Nov, 2012, at 4 pm , to help people prevent stroke or react effectively and save lives in the event an attack occurs” announced Dr Ashish Banerji, CEO, Umrao Hospitals. “This program is a must for senior citizens and especially those who may have experienced TIAs. They can avail free consultation with Neuro specialist for a week commencing 29th October”, added Dr. Banerji.
