Not only the elderly, younger Indian population is becoming quite vulnerable to stroke

Gurugram, November 20, 2019: With sudden rise seen in incidence of stroke among the younger population, there is an urgent need to create awareness to curb down the instances. With an aim to make people understand the importance of early recognition of symptoms of stroke and ways to prevent it, stroke and neurovascular intervention Foundation organized an interactive session today.

Due to the dearth of stroke units and neurointerventionist in our country, awareness about advanced treatment methods is not high and needs to be discussed to all, in order to prevent stroke from becoming an epidemic. Stroke and neurovascular intervention foundation has been conducting various training programs, National and International conferences, providing a platform for the doctors to discuss the latest advancements for stroke management. Very few such detailed training programs are organized in India, which emphasizes exclusively for latest interventions in stroke management.

Several researches and studies have documented a troubling rise in stroke among young adults starting at an age of as young as 25 years. Apparently, it is also estimated that the average age of patients having a stroke attack in developed countries like India is 15 years lesser than that in the developed countries. As per the recent data provided by Stroke India 2018, of all the patients having a stroke attack last year, 20% of them were under the age of 40 years. It is clearly evident that stroke among young adults is the third common cause of global mortality rate and 4th leading cause of morbidity.

“Stroke was once considered to be a disease of the elderly population and this myth is gradually falling apart with sharp rise in number of stroke cases in patients aged less than 40 years of age. Apart from inherited and genetic causes, poor diet and lifestyle practices are the major reasons attributing to this burden. While creating awareness about the identification of symptoms for timely diagnosis and treatment can have favourable outcomes and save many lives, it is also necessary for the public to know the ways to prevent stroke. A healthy and balanced diet alone can reduce the chances of stroke by upto 80%.” Said Dr Vipul Gupta, Director- Neurointervention, stroke and neurovascular intervention Foundation

Adapting to healthy lifestyle and eating habits are a few basic changes assisting in the prevention of stroke. Youngsters should focus on a healthy diet along with regular exercise regime, smoking cessation and limiting alcohol intake.

“Awareness about the symptoms of stroke and importance of timely intervention should be made more prominent among the masses. The first six to twenty four hours are important for the treatment of stroke and its reversal. Treatment for stroke has changed widely in the past five years. With the advancements in the treatment of Brain Stroke, the modern devices are not only able to remove the clots but also reverse stroke. It is feasible to prevent disability and casualties due to stroke with timely diagnosis and raising awareness about latest and safest intervention techniques. Delay in treatment leaves more than one-third of the victims permanently disabled and over 25% die within 1 year.” Added Dr Gupta

Administration of appropriate medical management in the early hours of stroke is most critical.