Hyderabad: Drug abuse, recreational drugs, smoking, hookah and early onset of hypertension and diabetes are emerging as a leading cause for brain strokes among students and young professionals, say experts on the eve of World Stroke Day on Tuesday.
So much so, incidence of strokes in 15-45 year age group is 20 per 1 lakh of population. This is a cause of worry as these strokes are caused by preventable factors.
Dr Subash Kaul, senior consultant neurologist at KIMS Hospital, explained, “Every year, there are 150 stroke cases per 1 lakh population in India.
Of late, we are seeing many young people coming in. They have either suffered a paralytic attack, lost sensation in the toes and the leg, are unable to speak or have collapsed. This is a worrying trend as these people are in the most productive age group. Unfortunately, they end up suffering a debilitating attack that leaves them disabled. It is very important that the younger population is educated about these avoidable causes.”
A brain stroke occurs when there is obstruction or rupture of a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain. The obstruction is usually in the form of a clot. Experts say these strokes affect the younger age groups when they use recreational drugs, hookah, seesha, or abuse alcohol. The menace of drug abuse has spread to educational institutions, which is a leading cause for addiction and loss of productive life. Hospital data that exists is of cases that come on time. Data is missing in cases wherein death is immediate. Experts state that the existing cases are only the tip of the iceberg.
Dr Alok Ranjan, senior neurologist at Apollo Hospitals, said, “Earlier, brain strokes affected only patients who were above 60 years. Now, more and more youngsters are coming in, who take a lot of time to recover.” Hospital stay in such cases is more than 20 days. Complete recovery can take six months to a year depending on the response.
Medical cases, which have been researched, show that in most of the cases involving people below 20 years of age, their parents are unaware of their abuse and addiction. They are unwilling to accept the condition of their child and blame doctors for wrong diagnosis.
Lifestyle disorders like hypertension and diabetes, where regular usage of medicines, timely diagnosis and checks are missing, can also be a reason for brain stroke, like the case of B. Ravi, 32, (name changed). He stopped taking blood pressure medicines once his BP got under control. He did not take any medicine for over a month, leading to a major stroke. He suffered paralysis and is now bedridden. His chances of getting back to normal life are dim.
Experts say careful management of lifestyle diseases is important.
