Prompt treatment by specialized team at Paras HMRI helps save patient’s life from stroke.
50 years old Mrs. Shivani (name changed to protect identity) was rushed to Paras HMRI hospital with a sudden numbness & Paralysis of face & limbs. She was like any other day doing her household activities when suddenly she started complaining of headache & progressively her arms were getting numb & weak. Her son noticed that her voice was sounding odd as her speech was getting slurred by the minute. She was brought to the hospital by her family members within half an hour of the incident. The doctors at the emergency diagnosed her as having an acute brain stroke.
An immediate CT scan suggested a clot in the arteries supplying blood to her brain. She was immediately injected with a potent tissue plasminogen activator that helped to dissolve the blood clot. Luckily today she has recovered from the life threating situation & is enjoying a normal life, thanks to the promptness with which she was brought into the ER.
However not all patients are lucky. “Most of the time common people are not at all aware of brain Stroke & when it strikes them they mistake it for other problems.” Said Dr Shivanand Gupta ER doctor at Paras HMRI hospital.“In case of Brain Stroke prompt identification & quick shifting of patients to a hospital equipped to handle brain stroke patients are the key to help the patient survive well. The first 60 min from a stroke are considered as the golden hour & if patients present themselves at the hospital within that time patients can regain completely in most of the cases.’ He added. “Unfortunately because relatives and the patients do not understand this they bring in the patients late to the hospital. Such patients though can be saved however most of them develop permanent disability like one side paralysis for life”
“Stroke Occurs when blood supply to a part of the brain is severely interrupted depriving brain tissues from oxygen & within minutes the brain cells begin to die.” Explained neurologist Dr Anil Kumar Jha at Paras HMRI Hospital”. “We therefore train our staff & doctors to immediately identify such emergency cases & follow international set protocols in managing stroke patients. Protocols suggest that within the first 45 minutes of arrival of a stroke victim the patient should be evaluated with a brain imaging scan & reviewed for thrombolysis. At Paras HMRI Hospital we are fully equipped to do so in the stipulated time. However in ignorance patients do not realize that the patient should be immediately brought to the hospital without losing time. Very often such patients report to us after 5-6 hours of the stroke & eventually though the patient is revived, they suffer from permanent disability like one side paralysis.” Added Dr Jha.
“Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in Men but in women it is third leading cause. Most of the women are not aware of these facts that each year stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer. In general women have longer life than men, leading to more negative impact of stroke on their life” added Dr Abhishek.” It is extremely important to recognize stroke onset. Most of the symptoms of stroke are same in men and women patients i.e Sudden onset weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body, Sudden onset slurring of speech, understanding problem or confusion, Sudden onset blurred vision in one or both eyes, Sudden onset loss of balance or coordination.” Explained Dr. Abhishek, consultant Neurology at Paras HMRI Hospital.
Anyone having early symptoms of stroke, need to be rushed to hospital emergency as early as possible because clot bursting drug tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) could be given only up to 4.5 hrs. of onset of stroke symptoms. Early identification of stroke symptoms, coming to emergency department without delay, fast evaluation by doctor, brain imaging and early start of treatment are the key points of stroke treatment. “Very often we get stroke patients coming to us. At Paras HMRI Neurosciences department we have dedicated task force of doctors & paramedics who have been trained to handle stroke patients with utmost promptness in adherence to protocols. There are ample patients who have benefitted from us as these trained caregivers have been able to save patients because of prompt action and our sophisticated diagnostic facilities.” Said Dr Ravi Shankar Singh, Zonal director of Paras HMRI Hospital.
