CHENNAI: Government hospitals in Chennai have witnessed an increase in people being treated for stroke thrombolysis in the last four years. However, as the world observes the World Stroke Day on Thursday, doctors say that awareness about early intervention for stroke is largely needed in the society. Thrombolysis is a treatment in which drugs are used to dissolve the clot that is causing the stroke by disrupting the blood flow to the brain.
Data compiled from the two major government hospitals in the city, Stanley GH and the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, show that there has been an increase in thrombolysis treatment for stroke every year over the last four years.
In 2017, a total of 17 patients were treated with thrombolysis, while it increased to 42 in 2018, and 66 in 2019, while in 2020 as of October, 55 people have been treated. Out of the 55 people treated for stroke in the two hospitals in 2020, 45 were from Stanley as the hospital had done thrombolysis on Covid-19 patients who suffered from stroke.
Dr R Lakshmi Narasimhan, Director at Institute of Neurology, Madras Medical College, which is attached to the RGGGH, said awareness is largely required on early treatment as more than 1,000 cases of stroke comes every year at the hospital but only less number of people are given treatment using thrombolysis. “The time window for stroke is 4 and half hours. It is much lesser than the window for the heart attack. If they miss the window, chances of a life-long paralysis is high,” he said.
Dr Narasimhan, who is also the State Nodal Officer of Stroke Care, said stroke cases are on the rise in the State. “We have ensured availability of treatment of stroke. There are 88 Government facilities in the State for treatment and public to become aware,” he said. “BE-FAST”, says Dr K Mugundhan, Head of Department, Neurology, Stanley GH. “B (loss of balance), E (eye problem), (facial deviation), A (arm weakness), S (speech problems) and T (Time to Call)”, he explains.
“In case of a ischemic stroke, which most people present with, a person loses 2 million neurons per minute. So timing is important,” he said. Dr Mugundhan said that even Covid patients were treated for stroke at the hospital. Dr Narasimhan said that Tamil Nadu is the first in the country to offer treatment for stroke free-of-cost in its government hospitals.