Stroke affecting more youngsters, lifestyle to blame, say doctors

Ahmedabad, 30^th May 2022: Stroke, normally considered a disease that affects the elderly, is now affecting more youngsters, according to leading neurosurgeons.

“We are now seeing increasing cases of stroke among youngsters. It has become very common, and it is largely due to lifestyle, stress levels, smoking and other factors,” Dr. Rohin Bhatia, a leading neurosurgeon from Jaipur in a conversation with Hardeep Sodhi, founder of Stroke Support India, as a part of Cadila CNS, Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ awareness initiative on various neuropsychiatry disorders.

Numbness of hands, visual blurring, and slurring of speech are among the symptoms of stroke, he said further.

Dr. Makarand Hirve, senior neurologist from Bhopal, said that stroke could happen to anyone at any age.

“Strokes happen suddenly, affecting limb movement or sight. The trend of clotting of blood vessels is relatively more common in India due to various factors. Post-stroke seizure, headaches, and vascular dementia are some of the other post-stroke disorders,” Dr. Hirve said.

In his comments, Dr. Sunit Shah, senior consultant neurologist, Jaipur, said that time is of the essence in stroke cases.

“90 million brain neurons get damaged every minute following a stroke. Recovery of damaged brain parts is very challenging and it all depends on how soon treatment begins. But due to lack of awareness, barely 1%  of stroke patients reach the hospital within the window period of four hours, leading to loss of valuable time,” said Dr. Shah.

Dr. Saurabh Srivastava, a leading neurosurgeon from Gorakhpur, said that medical and non-medical aspects are equally crucial for stroke patients’ recovery.

“Medicines help to a certain extent in cognitive matters, but emotional support of a family is a must for stroke recovery. The patient should not be seen as a burden,” said Dr. Srivastava, stressing the need for regular monitoring and taking medicines as directed for proper recovery.

Cadila Pharmaceuticals is one of the largest privately-held pharma companies in the country and has been engaged in the development and production of high-quality but affordable medicines for patients around the world.

Stroke Support India was formed in 2013 with the mission to raise stroke awareness and support stroke survivors and their families. It runs a free patient support group for stroke survivors in association with stroke management experts. It is also an active member of the World Stroke Organization.

All stroke affected are invited to become members of Stroke Support India community by visiting https://strokesupport.in/or scanning on their mobile device the attached QR Code.”