Learning about stroke can help you act in time to save a co-worker, friend, or relative. And making changes in your lifestyle can help you prevent stroke.
Stroke is the first leading cause of disability and third leading cause of death in India– can be beaten. The prevalence rate of stroke is 1.54 per thousand. India will face enormous socio-economic burden to meet the costs of rehabilitation of “stroke victims” because the population is now surviving through the peak years (age 55-65) of occurrence of stroke, it is responsible for more deaths annually than those attributed to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, yet stroke remains a silent epidemic. Now is the time to act, on the occasion of World Stroke day Narayan Health brings this Stroke Campaign aiming to disseminate essential life-saving information and share knowledge about actions and lifestyle behaviours that could avert the assault of stroke.
What you need to know about stroke?
Everyone needs to know about stroke because stroke can happen to anyone. A stroke is a medical emergency, happens when blood flow to the brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke.
(a) ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks a blood vessel in the brain, This is the most common type, accounting for approximately 80 percent of all strokes.
(b) hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain.
“Mini-strokes” or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) occur when the blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted.
Every minute counts.
The longer blood flow is cut off to the brain, the greater the damage. The most common kind of stroke, ischemic stroke, can be treated with a drug that dissolves clots blocking the blood flow. The window of opportunity to start treating stroke patients is four and half hours. But a person needs to be at the hospital within four hours of having a stroke to be evaluated and receive treatment
Know the signs, act in time
If any of these symptoms persists, one must go to a hospital quickly to begin treatment. A person having high blood pressure has a greater risk of having a stroke, the risk is even more greater if one has high blood pressure and older than 50 years. Use the quiz below to learn your risk factors for stroke .The more “yes” answers you have, the higher your risk and the more potential dangers you will encounter.
Department of neurosciences serves with a mission to provide high-end care for patients with neurological disorders at an affordable cost. The neurosciences department delivers cutting edge, state–of-the–art neurological services at par with the best in the world.
At Narayana Health new techniques which are practiced abroad very routinely known as temporary endovascular bypass procedure is also used for treatment of acute stroke. The hospital has a stroke team consisting of neuro physicians, interventional neurologist, neurosurgeon, intensivist and radiologist.
The network of hospitals under Narayana Health offers comprehensive packages for epileptic care services, cerebral stroke programmes including rehabilitation and evaluation of complex neuromuscular disorders for which a recommended course of treatment is followed, focus is on increasing awareness on stroke and its prevention rather than cure
Hybrid Cath Lab
The Hybrid Cath Lab / OR Suite is a brand new concept and Narayana Health is privileged to have installed the first of its’ kind in Karnataka’. This state-of-the-art operating suite incorporates all the equipments, monitoring devices and technology required for neurological procedures. This lab makes minimally invasive interventions possible with ‘live’ top-end 3D imaging which significantly reduces the margin for error, thus reducing patient’s trauma and recovery time to a great extent.
Preventive Procedures
Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows the carotid arteries. This limits or blocks the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, which can lead to a stroke. Medical procedures which may be needed when arteries show plaque build up or blockage
Other non surgical options to treat diseases of the blood vessels of Brain and spinal cord is Interventional neurology, it is a speciality which uses minimally invasive and image based technologies / procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of blood vessels of brain and spinal cord(neurovascular diseases). These diseases include paralytic strokes ,brain aneurysms and arterio venous malformations (AVM’s) of blood supplying the brain and spinal cords using coiling, stenting and embolization.
Q & A
Dr Vikram Huded, Head of interventional neurology and stroke, Mazumdar Shaw Medical centre, Narayan Health city answers FAQ’s on key issues about strokes
Q: What treatment is there for stroke?
If the patient is brought to the hospital within the four hours of the symptoms, Ischemic strokes can be reversed by reopening of the blocked vessel. Stroke can be prevented by Stenting and controlling the risk factors.
Q: What are the effects of a stroke?
Every stroke is different. Every person affected by stroke will have different problems and different needs. The way in which one might be affected depends on where in the brain the stroke happens and how big the stroke is. A stroke on the right side of the brain generally causes problems on the left side of the body. A stroke on the left side of the brain causes problems on the right side of the body. Some strokes happen at the base of the brain and can cause problems with eating, breathing and moving.
Diabetes is a prominent risk factor for ischemic but not hemorrhagic stroke. It is responsible for 7% of deaths in stroke patients. The risk is more in females when compared to males and the risk increases in the fifth and sixth decades, decreasing thereafter. Lacunar infarcts caused by small ischemic lesions in the deep regions of the brain and brainstem caused by occlusion of small penetrating branches of major cerebral arteries occur more frequently in patients with diabetes and hypertension.
Q . Making health choices
Watching what you eat and being physically active are high on the list. They’ll help you feel better too. In many cases, living a healthy lifestyle reduces the need for medical treatment. One can reduce the risk of having a stroke by taking action to improve one’s health by few simple lifestyle changes.