Christian Medical College, Ludhiana Principal elected as Vice-President of World Stroke Organization

Ludhiana, November 29, 2018: Stroke or Brain attack is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world. World Stroke Organization (WSO) is the world’s leading organization in the fight against stroke. WSO has more than 4000 individual members and over 60 society members from 85 different countries. The mission of WSO is to reduce the global burden of stroke through prevention, treatment and long-term care. Dr Jeyaraj D Pandian, Principal of Christian Medical College (CMC) Ludhiana was recently elected as the Vice-President of WSO. In the WSO Board meeting which was held last month in Montreal, Canada, Dr Pandian took up this position. He is the first Neurologist from Asia Oceania region to be elected to this highly influential post. Dr Pandian said that in India there are 1.7 million new cases in a year, and 22% to 42% of these patients die within 1 month. In a survey done in urban Ludhiana in 2013, Dr.Pandian found a very high proportion of stroke patients (25%) in the city who were below 45 years of age. Dr Pandian had earlier completed two terms as a board of director in WSO from 2008 and he served as a Chair, and also as a member in several committees with WSO. Dr Pandian has done research widely on stroke thrombolysis and stroke infrastructure in developing countries. Dr Pandian was the Co-chair of the World Stroke Congress 2016 held in Hyderabad, India. Through this position Dr. Pandian aims to develop stroke care services in South Asia, south East Asia and Africa. He is going to represent WSO in a major global policy meeting being organized by World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding use of medical technologies in stroke. It is a matter of great honor for Ludhiana for the state of Punjab, and India that he has been elected as the first Asian at such a high post of WSO. Said Dr. William Bhatti, Director CMC, congratulated Dr. Jeyaraj Pandian for this achievement. Dr. Anil Luther, Medical Superintendent said that its matter of great pride and inspiration for the doctors in Punjab and Ludhiana to aspire. Dr.Mahesh Kate, Head of Neurology added that the Stroke Unit of CMC Ludhiana has been providing state of the art clinical services in this region for more than 10 years. Recently the department added a new facility Neurointerventional Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) lab. Stroke patients who reach within 24 hrs can benefit from removing the clot in the brain using a stent. Dr. Kate added, CMC is the only such center which provides care which is focuses from prevention, treatment and rehabilitation in the region. Dr.Anirudh Kulkarni, Neurointerventionalist at CMC Ludhiana stated that stroke patients if they reach on time will be able to avail this new facility and treatment.