The Indian Stroke Association’s (ISA) is soon going to establish a ISA-endorsed 'stroke units’ across India. The need for this initiative of endorsing centres of excellence for stroke treatment was felt after it was observed recently that many patients after suffering a stroke landed up to the nearest hospitals, only to realise that the hospitals were not equipped with the right doctors, technology or skill-sets to treat stroke.
The patients were found to be losing out on the golden period for treating stroke, which is between three to four and half hours. The logo reflecting ISA-endorsed 'stroke units’ was also unveiled at the event which will enable patients to identify ISA-endorsed stroke units closest to their homes in case of an emergency within the family. This event was organised to mark world stroke day which falls on October 29 this year.
According to Dr Shirish Hastak, president, Indian Stroke Association (ISA) the process of identifying ISA-endorsed stroke units across India has already begun and will continue to be an on-going process. Within the next three months, ISA plans to endorse 200 centres across India. These centers will be endorsed by ISA after following a stringent process and the endorsement will be awarded only to hospitals equipped with the highest levels of skill-sets and technologies required to treat stroke.
According to the World Stroke Organisation, every six minutes in this world a person has a stroke. One in every six individuals can have a stroke during their lifetime. In India, every year 14 lakh people develop an acute ischemic stroke, but very few reach a neurologist on time. It has been observed that of the 3800 who are afflicted with acute ischemic stroke every day, of which only 380 or 10 per cent reach on time that is within three to four and half hours from the time the stroke occured.
Even fewer patients get thrombolysed, a procedure where clot is removed from the blood vessels. Thrombolysis is better than no thrombolysis, when indicated, however, it has been observed that out of 50 patients who are eligible for thrombolysis, only seven are thrombolysed. As a result, many are relegated to a lifetime of disability, incapacitation, dependence and paralysis.
At the very first symptom of a stroke, the family of the patient needs to rush to a stroke unit at the earliest. ISA is pioneering efforts to improve awareness, early diagnosis and referral, and appropriate management. It is being recommended by the ISA to start an ambulance service for this endeavour and to create a stroke help line and a code alert.