Brain strokes not an ‘elderly people’s disease’

Once an ‘elderly people’s disease’, brain strokes are now hitting an increasing number of people below the age of 45, neurologists say, primarily holding the perils of modern-day lifestyles and substance abuse responsible for the medical emergency.
And ahead of the World Stroke Day on October 29, they are calling for facilitating timely diagnosis by setting up at least one stroke unit in every district of the country to improve the situation. In the West, reports say, the possibility of a brain stroke in young people is between 3.5 and 8 per cent. In India, one-fourth of the total occurs to those below 45, meaning one in every four persons suffers a brain stroke, said Dr Padma Srivastava, chief of AIIMS Neurosciences Centre. The Indian Council for Medical Research estimates one person suffers a stroke every three seconds in the country and a death is reported every three minutes.
Conventional risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension, smoking, tobacco use, obesity and sedentary modern-day lifestyles are leading to strokes among those below 45. Air pollution could also act as a trigger for a stroke and neurology experts across the globe are looking into it. There has been an increase in stroke cases in middle-income countries in Asia, especially India and China. But the countries in Europe have reported fewer incidences of brain stroke owing to timely health check-ups and healthier lifestyles. Dr Pushpendra Nath Renjen, of Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, said more and more stroke incidences are being witnessed among young people who are into illegal drugs and substance abuse. (PTI)