Chennai: P. Kumaran (70, name changed) collapsed due to giddiness during his evening walk. Fearing a heart attack, his family rushed him to the hospital where the doctors identified the cause as a stroke and treated him immediately. Within 20 minutes, he was absolutely normal. As his relatives had no idea of the cause, they said that if he were not unconscious they wouldn’t have taken him to the hospital immediately.
Stroke is the third most common cause of death in Tamil Nadu and the country and the second most common cause of death worldwide. Doctors say it is the lack of awareness on the telltale signs of stroke that is the reason behind the burden.
In a study conducted in rural Maharashtra recently, it was found that stroke was the leading cause of death there. “The commonest reasons for stroke are diabetes, hypertension and hyper cholestrol. Therefore, if the rural population doesn’t get tested for it, their burden will be higher,” said Dr. S. K. Paneerselvan, a neurosurgeon.
According to a study conducted by Dr. Halprashanth D. S., consultant neurologist and head of the comprehensive stroke centre of Global Hospital, it was found that when comparing India to other countries, people here develop stroke 15 years earlier than the Western population.
“Risk factors like diabetes, hyper cholestrol, hypertension, obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption are higher in India. Indians are also genetically pre-disposed to develop atherosclerosis – fat deposition in blood vessels causing heart and brain diseases,” said the neurologist.
With the lack of any form of pain felt while having a stroke, doctors feel creating awareness on the telltale signs is the need of the hour. “To make people aware of this condition, we have come up with a term called F-A-S-T to enable the public to identify the signals. FAST stands for facial deviation, arm weakness, speech difficulty and time,” said the doctor.
As people, in order to save money, prefer to get treated in nearby clinics or small hospitals instead of bigger hospitals with better facilities, doctors feel that the ‘golden hours’ are lost. Urging the public to rush to a good hospital in case of signals felt, Dr. Halprashanth said that the IVTPA- Tissue Plasminogen Activator injection can be given only within four-and-a-half-hours of the onset, in order to reverse the stroke.
