According to the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), India has a 68.6% incidence of stroke, 70.9% death from stroke, and 77.7 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost.
These numbers are alarming for India, particularly for people living in resource-poor settings, Srivastava said.
Furthermore, the burden of strokes is highest among younger and middle-aged people. The GBD analysis also showed that about 5.2 million (31 percent) of strokes occurred in children younger than 20 years.
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Despite these alarming numbers, many Indian hospitals lack the necessary infrastructure and organization to treat stroke patients quickly and efficiently and do not provide adequate stroke care, Srivastava said.
“Stroke services across the country, especially in public sector hospitals, are deficient in many ways.”
How serious is a stroke?
Strokes can be fatal or can lead to paralysis and must be treated as soon as possible. The ‘golden window’ for stroke treatment is considered to be 4.5. hours, beyond which certain therapies would not help reverse the damage to neurons.
When it comes to timely access to stroke care, India faces an infrastructure gap between urban and rural populations. Telemedicine can help improve conditions, he suggested.
Role of telemedicine in the treatment of stroke
“One of the solutions for this deficiency in resource-rich and resource-poor environments in India is to adopt telestroke models in resource-poor environments. Telemedicine Implementation/telestroke is an important step in uniting economically and geographically disadvantaged and disadvantaged sections of society, Srivastava said.
Can depression cause a stroke?
A study published in the journal Neurology shows that depression may be linked to stroke. People who have symptoms of depression may be at higher risk of having a stroke. Depression can also worsen recovery after a stroke.
COVID-19 and stroke: is there a link?
Besides COVID has also been associated with increased levels of stroke. People with COVID were found to be 2.5 times more likely to have an unfavorable outcome and face a difficult recovery after stroke, according to a recent study by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in the US.
Source: IANS
