First time ever in India, the 10th World Stroke Congress (WSC) with mission to reduce the global and region burden of the stroke to be held in Hyderabad from October 26-29, 2016.
Disclosing this in a press note issued in Hyderabad, Stephen Davis, president, World Stroke Organization (WSO) and Congress co-chair, Dr Werner Hacke, Congress Oversight Committee Chair and incoming president of WSO and Dr. Jeyaraj Pandian, Congress co-chair from India informed the meet will kick off on October 26 at Hyderabad International Convention Center in Hyderabad. The Congress will conclude on October 29, 2016.
Dr. C. Laxma Reddy, minister for health, government of Telangana will formally inaugurate the meet.
The World Stroke Congress is held once in two years and it is being organised for the first time in India at Hyderabad. The Congress is jointly organised by WSO and the Indian Stroke Association (ISA). Nearly 2100 delegates are expected from all over the globe.
WSO is the world’s leading organisation in the fight against stroke. Today, WSO has more than 3700 individual members and over 60 society members from 85 different countries.
WSO’s mission is to reduce the global burden of stroke through prevention, treatment and long term care. WSO collaborates closely with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Stroke is a major cause of disability and death worldwide. A large proportion of strokes occur in low and middle income countries like India. In India alone 1.7 million new stroke cases occur every year. Stroke affects young people in India during their productive period of life. Stroke care infrastructure is developed mainly in private hospitals but the vast majority of public hospitals are ill-equipped to treat stroke patients. The treatment expenses are borne by the patients and relatives and hence there is a huge economic burden on the family. The neighboring countries in south Asia also face a similar problem of a huge burden of stroke with a poor infrastructure to tackle the situation, stated Dr Jeyaraj Pandian.
The congress will have joint sessions with World Health Organization, World Hypertension league, Asia Pacific Stroke Organization, European Stroke Organization, American Stroke Association, World Federation of Neurorehabilitation, Indian Federation of Neurorehabilitation and Indian Academy of Neurology. These important sessions will focus on key issues related to stroke care and policies said Prof Werner Hacke. Dr Hacke also stated that the WSO will be releasing the Road Map for stroke care during the conference.
Dr VG Pradeep Secretary of the ISA mentioned that as an Association we are supporting many young neurology trainees, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists with a travel grant to participate in the congress. Dr Subash Kaul, Dean of Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad and the President of Indian Academy of Neurology stated that the WSC will be a great opportunity for the Indian Neurologists and stroke professionals from South Asia to interact with stroke experts from across the world.
Some of the distinguished speakers include Dr Pooja Khatri (USA), Dr Andrew Demchuk (Canada), Prof Peter Sandercock (UK), Prof Valeria Caso (Italy), Prof Michael Brainin (Austria), Prof Hans-Christoph Diener (Germany), Prof Geoffrey Donnan (Australia), Prof Lawrence Wong (Hong Kong), Prof S Martins (Brazil).
There will be a one day session on stroke support organisation and post stroke hobby exhibition. Dr Uppal President of Indian Stroke Association commented that this congress will have a huge impact on the development of stroke care services in the region and in India.
The Congress, Dr. Pandian said, will provide a cutting edge educational and scientific experience, focusing on the latest developments in acute management, rehabilitation and long term care.