30 SBI pensioners attend talk on ‘stroke awareness’

Chandigarh, July 11, 2019: As many as 30 SBI pensioners attended an Alchemist Hospital health talk on ‘stroke awareness’ at SBI Bank, Sector 5, Panchkula on Thursday. The talk was organised in association of SBI pensioners. Addressing talk, Dr Anurag Lamba, senior consultant- neurology at Alchemist Hospital said, “ Every 20-second, one Indian suffers a brain stroke, or three every minute, and the numbers are increasing alarmingly due to changing lifestyles. At this rate, around 15-lakh Indians are affected by strokes every year and 90% stroke patients failed to reach hospital on time. The lifetime risk of stroke after the age of 55 is one in five for women and one in six for men.” “Stroke is a sudden loss of function of a part of the body. The simple rule is ‘BE FAST’—balance, eyes, face, arms, speech, time,” he advised. If a person suffers from problems in balancing, change in voice, sudden loss of vision, drops an object, giddiness, they must be rushed to the hospital.” Dr Lamba cautioned that treatment for brain strokes cannot start at home and a CT or a MRI scan is necessary. Dr Lamba further said that studies show that on an average, a person waits for 13-hr after experiencing the first symptoms of stroke before seeking medical care. Forty two percent patients wait for as long as 24-hr. Therefore, awareness on the issue is a must because it is critical to recognise the symptoms of stroke and seek immediate emergency attention, maintained Dr Lamba. The time frame to intervene is narrow and may be as short as upto 4-5 hours after onset of symptoms, he said. Meanwhile a brain stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrients to the brain is blocked by a clot or bursts, causing the brain to starve. If deprived of oxygen for even a short period of time, the brain cells begin to die. Once this happens, the part of the body controlled by that section of the brain is affected, impairing language, motor skills or vision or causing paralysis. “Compared to heart attack, awareness about brain stroke, which is even more debilitating, is very limited. Therefore awareness is a must to improve the scenario,” Dr. Lamba asserted. Preventing a stroke 1. Eating a healthy diet. 2. Maintaining a healthy weight. 3. Exercise regularly. 4. Don't smoke. 5. Avoiding alcohol. 6. Keep BP and Diabetes under control