The theme of the World Stroke Day 2015 is “I am Woman”. Studies in India have shown the incidence of stroke is increasing among women.
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Brian injuries resulting from strokes are a major cause of adult disability in the UK.
Stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications, and death.
“It happens when the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off”, says Stroke Association.
“Blood carries essential nutrients and oxygen to your brain”. Stroke occurs due to two main reasons -lifestyle choices and hereditary predisposition.
“Lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol levels with medication also lowers the risk of stroke substantially, as does taking anticoagulant medication if you have an irregular heartbeat due to a condition called atrial fibrillation”.
When it comes to having a stroke, knowing the symptoms can help save someone from irreversible brain damage.
If a close relative – be it a parent, grandparent, brother or sister – has had a stroke, you are at a higher risk of suffering a stroke.
“The carotid artery or the smaller vessels in the brain; so when those arteries get blocked up or clogged up or pieces break off they can clog the arteries in the brain and cause a stroke”, said Dr. Richard Howard, cardiologist. Ganesh’s face drooped, his words began to slur and his left side was completely paralyzed a classic indicator of Stroke- called FAST.
Conventionally drugs through IV are administered to the patients to dissolve the clot.
Contrary to popular belief, up to 80% of strokes can be prevented.
In the case of Ganesh as he was very young, doctors check whether first there was any hemorrhage in his brain by doing a Connecticut scan. “This is because the blockage that stops the blood getting to your brain is temporary”. Immediately Mechanical Thrombectomy was performed to remove the blood clots.
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According to Luxembourg’s Health Ministry, in the Grand Duchy around four people suffer a stroke every day, from which one person will die. While administration of intravenous thrombolytic drug within 4.5 hours of onset of stroke symptoms is good, this alone may not save all the victims. “Unlike heart attacks, which are identified by the pain they cause, strokes are often painless, and can often go undiagnosed till much later”, he told The Hindu. According to the National Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death for women and each year, 55,000 more women have a stroke than men.
