Case Study: Stroke the second most common cause of death in India

Stroke is the second most common cause of death in India

Stroke is the second most common cause of death in India according to a multi center study carried out in Chennai.  With a population of 1.5 billion the burden of stroke on society would be significant. As per the recent reports released by the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society; the incidence of paralysis and stroke in India is increasing significantly by almost 50% every year.  What is even more distressing is that 40% die after a major stroke, 30% need full support and more than 50 % do not go back to work.

Stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications, and death. Brain attack or stroke, is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. It is caused due to block in blood vessel (ischemic stroke) or rupture of the blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke) in the brain. 85% of all strokes are due to loss of blood supply to the brain (ischemic stroke) whilst 15% are of the hemorrhagic variety

According to Dr Anil Karapurkar “As the population of India ages, stroke will become the greatest killer, thus it is crucial to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke and admit the patient to the right hospital for prompt treatment which potentially can reduce stroke damage significantly”.

Case Study - Mrs Savita Nathani- 65 years

Mrs Savita Nathani is an active 65 years old lady who has been following a healthy lifestyle from the start. With no history of health complications Mrs Nathani was going through her daily routine as usual, when all of sudden she noticed slurring of speech and notified her husband. According to Mr. Nathani, within next few seconds, she was not even able to speak desired words and failed to understand what is been told to her and kept on repeating same words. This kept on progressively worsening and over next 5 minutes, she was unable to hold the tea cup and her right arm went limp. Her mouth deviated to left side and now she was unable to stand and maintain her balance.

Sensing something is really wrong she was immediately admitted to the hospital where she was diagnosed clinically to have acute stroke.  Upon admission Mrs Nathani underwent urgent CT brain followed by Magnetic Resonance angiography of brain.  Her MRA revealed that middle cerebral artery supplying the left cerebral hemisphere was blocked which was the cause of her right-sided weakness and inability to speak and understand.

Mrs. Nathani was suffering from atrial fibrillation, a condition of rhythm irregularity of heart responsible for formation of clots in the heart chamber and one of the clots blocked the artery of brain resulting in stroke.

Under the able guidance of Dr. Karapurkar,Mrs. Nathani underwent urgent thrombectomy within an hour of her admission. Mrs Nathani successfully recovered from her condition within 7 days and was able to walk independently with significant improvement in her speech as well as strength in arm.

According to Dr. Anil Karapurkar “most patients would be dependent on ventilators or enter into coma after experiencing such a severe stroke. “As advanced as technology is, prevention and timely intervention is the only effective cure.”