Striking On Stroke: Mission Ahead For Mankind
By Nava Thakuria
01 November, 2011
Countercurrents.org
It was a routine health check-up camp for journalists at Guwahati
Press Club, where the menace of stroke was discussed with unusual
absorption. Organized by GNRC Hospitals, Guwahati on the occasion of
World Stroke Day on October 29, the Free Screening Camp for Detection
and Prevention of Stroke was aimed to make the media persons enlighten
about the third largest killer (after the heart attack and cancer) in
India.
As the name suggests, the stroke or acute brain disorder occurs all of
a sudden irrespective of the age and gender of an individual. The most
horrible statistics are that one in six persons in the world will face
the stroke in their lifetime. More to it, one person dies from stroke
in every six seconds in the globe.
The day long camp was inaugurated by the eminent Assamese film and
theatre personality Pranjal Saikia, which was also graced by Dr NC
Borah, an acclaimed neurologist of India. The CMD of GNRC Hospitals
disclosed some stunning information regarding the prevalence of stroke
in Assam and northeast India. According to Dr Borah every day not less
than 80 people in Assam (which has a population of around 30 million)
suffers from the stroke.
“Many patients die on way to the hospital as the common people have
very limited knowledge of stroke. The relatives of the patients take
longer time to realize that it was stroke and that way the golden
period (immediate first three hours after the stroke) is lost.
Otherwise, 70% of patients can be treated and the patients can go back
to his work after the treatment,” said the modest neurologist.
According to the physicians’ language, a stroke (also known as brain
attack) occurs due to the impairment of blood supply to a part of the
brain thus reducing or preventing oxygen & nutrient supply. It leads
to sudden brain dysfunction and results in sudden neurological
deficit. The severity of stroke depends on the extent of brain damage
and the location on the brain where the damage has occurred. Stroke
can be classified into two types: one caused by a blockage of a brain
blood vessel and the second by the rupture of these blood vessels.
The immediate symptoms of patients will be sudden feeling of weakness,
blurring of vision, difficulty to walk & speech, sudden confusion,
loss of balance, severe headache, vertigo, vomiting etc. There may be
also a mild stroke, which an individual suffers for some hours. The
mini stroke has all the symptoms of stroke but those may disappear in
24 hours. But it should not be ignored as a mild stroke can be the
warning of an imminent major stroke.
Mentionable is that the stroke claims nearly six million lives
annually in the world. The WHO estimates 80% stroke cases in the globe
will occur in low and middle income countries including India in the
coming days. The populous country (over one billion) records over 1.7
million stroke cases annually, where 30 per cent succumb to the brain
disorder and among the surviving most of them have to lead a disabled
life. India is apprehended to report over 1.5 million cases of stroke
annually by 2015.
Dr Borah highlighted about some risk factors leading to stroke that
include high blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar with the habit of
smoking, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity etc. Similarly
the growing ages increases the risk of stroke. Various studies confirm
that males are more prone to stroke than females. The family history
of stroke is also not ignorable.
Though the blockage of a brain blood vessel is the most frequent cause
of stroke and it is responsible for nearly 80% of the cases, the
people of northeast India mostly suffers from rupture of blood
vessels, which is very dangerous, Dr Borah disclosed. The soft spoken
physician, who has treated nearly 25000 stroke patients in GNRC till
date, however admitted that no particular reason is yet to be cited
for this phenomenon.
Over hundred journalists participated in the GNRC sponsored health
camp where 15 per cent media persons were advised for further course
of treatment. The attending doctors Dr Amit Ranjan Baruah and Dr
Aparajita Barman informed that over 20 per cent of the participants
were diagnosed with hypertension and around 10 per cent were detected
with high sugar content in blood.
The stressful life and irregular food make the media persons
vulnerable for hearth attack and stroke. Shockingly most the
journalists of Assam donot enjoy health insurance facilities. Their
salary and other benefits are also reported below compared to other
professionals. At the same time, the Assam government too does not
have clear cut policy to support the journalists in the time of health
care related crisis.
The camp was also attended by Satabdi (Pinki) Borah, Mrinal Ali
Hazarika, Rajib Lahkar with Priyanka Borah, Rajkumar Gowda, Arvind
Bhatta, Santanu Bhattacharya, Diganta Goswami, Tridip Gogoi, Nirupa,
Sofia, Romita, Raghu, Rahman, Manoj, Harmohan, Dipen, Jaodi etc from
the GNRC Hospitals which was set up in 1987 and now equipped with a
dedicated team of 100 doctors, 300 nurses, 600 supporting staffs to
provide care for patients in 200 beds (110 are in ICU).
Dr Borah appeals to the media should to play a significant role in
sensitizing the common people about the risk factors of stroke and
argues that the journalists thus can help in preventing or reducing
the loss of many precious lives and the after-stroke disabilities. He
also believes that the media can propagate the message of healthy life
style and food habits that can save thousands of families out of ruin
because of the stroke.
Nava Thakuria is a journalist based in Guwahati of northeast India
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