On the occasion of World Stroke Day, Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals, Kolkata creates awareness about Brain Stroke.

On the occasion of World Stroke Day, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals Kolkata created awareness about Brain Stroke and how to revive such patients. People with high blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure (BP) are always more prone to having brain stroke. Earlier the probability of people having brain stroke was 1 out of 6, which now has become 1 out of 4. This drastic change is figure is mainly due to poor lifestyles and eating habits.

Starting treatment within 4.5 hours of stroke is very crucial, as beyond that time the damage can be permanent, leading to complete paralysis or even death. Since the rule of golden hour is extremely critical for stroke patients, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata is equipped with a stroke team comprising of Emergency Physician, Neurologist, Neuro-Radiologist and the Cath-Lab technician, who can immediately attend to a patient admitted in the hospital. On seeing symptoms of stroke a ‘Code Stroke’ announcement is made, which signals the team to address the patient without any delay. The patient is immediately taken for CT Scan followed by medical or clinical treatment as per requirement.

On that note, Dr Amitabha Ghosh, Director, Department of Neurology, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata, said, “There are two kinds of brain stroke: ischemic stroke, where blood supply to part of the brain is decreased, leading to dysfunction of the brain tissue in that area. The other one is hemorrhagic stroke, in which there is sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, ventricles, or into both. In both cases it damages the brain cells as they are deprived of blood supply. However excellent treatment is now available. If treatment is initiated within definitive window period, permanent damage to brain cell can be prevented. One person out of four can have a stroke at any point of time in their life and which if untreated can lead to permanent disability or even death.”

Dr Arijit Bose, Senior Consultant, Emergency Medicine, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata, mentioned, “Whenever a patient develops an ischemic stroke, every second counts as brain tissue is highly susceptible to damage due to lack of blood supply. Due to this profound amount of brain tissue damage with each passing moment, it is important to know the symptoms of acute ischemic stroke at the earliest and reach the nearest stroke-ready hospital.”

Dr Nirmalya Ray, Consultant, Interventional Neuro-radiologist, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata, said, “Earlier stroke treatment involved only medication and physiotherapy but with the advancement of technology in healthcare, now endovascular therapy ensures that even large vessel occlusion can be addressed in cath labs. With the advent of newer technique of mechanical removal of clot, this treatment can be offered at least till 6 hours from symptom onset and even till 24 hours from symptom onset on very selected patients, who may benefit from such treatment. In this novel treatment, through a pin hole in the groin or wrist of the patient, the site of clot in the patient’s brain is accessed and the clot is either suctioned out or removed with the help of a stent. The earlier the procedure can be done, the better is likelihood of patient’s recovery.”

Dr Surinder Singh Bhatia, DMS, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals Kolkata, said, “The symptoms of brain stroke are quite profound like loss of balance, headache or dizziness, blurred vision, drooping of one side of face, arm or leg, weakness, difficulty in speaking. It’s easy to identify anyone having stroke and they can be taken to the nearest stroke-ready center, equipped with 24 x 7 cath Lab support and team of neurologists and neuro-interventionists. While a cardiac attack can kill a patient, a brain stroke can not only kill a patient, but it can kill a family because of the disability associated with it. Hence, know about your nearest stroke-ready center.”