Guwahati, October 28, 2023: Guwahati's GNRC Hospitals took a significant step in raising awareness about stroke prevention, treatment, and recovery by organizing a Press Conference on the occasion of World Stroke Day 2023. The event, held at the GNRC Dispur premises, featured the hospital's dedicated Stroke Care team.

GNRC appealed to the citizens to care for their health and spread awareness about stroke, apart from emphasizing the importance of recognizing the symptoms of stroke and seeking treatment quickly. Stroke is a major cause of mortality worldwide. GNRC, through various community engagement programs seeks to facilitate ‘Healthy Assam’ by creating awareness about early signs of stroke – F.A.S.T. (Face drooping; Arm weakness; Speech slurred; Time to call an ambulance), to alleviate human suffering.

According to the World Health Organization, 15 million people suffer stroke worldwide each year. Of these, 5 million die and another 5 million are permanently disabled. The incidence and burden of stroke is increasing in India, too, due to unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle along with an ageing population. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in India.

Addressing the media, Dr. Rupjyoti Das, Senior consultant, Department of Neurology, GNRC Dispur said: “On the occasion of World Stroke Day, let us join our hands to fight against stroke. Anyone of our family bears the risk of a stroke in their lifetime. This is really worrisome. 2 billion people worldwide are at the risk of having a stroke in their lifetime. Out of these people 20% people die and another 60% people remain disabled for life. Stroke is a devastating condition, but it is preventable and manageable. Public awareness, education, and timely medical intervention are critical in reducing the impact of stroke on individuals and their families. We need to educate people about symptoms of stroke, preventive measures as well as treatment options so as to save maximum people from the deadly clutches of stroke and permanent disability. Anybody anywhere anytime can have a stroke. We can easily prevent stroke by following a healthy lifestyle with proper diet, avoiding smoking and alcohol, doing physical activity or exercise on a regular basis and avoiding overweight & obesity. Moreover we need to keep an alert against five lifestyle diseases to keep a check on Stroke. Those five diseases are hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeat and stress and depression.”

Along with prevention, timely and accurate treatment of stroke is also important to save more lives. A Stroke ready hospital is the safest place to send a stroke patient to receive the most appropriate treatment. Such hospitals are equipped with all necessary infrastructure to manage any type of stroke intervention at any time of day. There are only a few such hospitals in India with GNRC being the only Stroke ready hospital in Northeast India.

Interventional Radiologist Dr. Firdaus Ahmed and Neurosurgeon Dr. Inamul Haque from GNRC shed light on various treatment options of stroke covering neurological, interventional and surgical aspects.