Rush patient to stroke-ready hospital
Minimally invasive procedure involves inserting a catheter into the brain and/or neck artery to remove the clot/s
Costs anything between Rs 5-7 lakh
People at large are generally more aware about heart attack and cancer as the most common causes of death worldwide. But brain stroke is also an equally common cause of death and long-term disability, with one in every four individuals at risk of suffering from it, but our awareness about it is much less.
Till recently, its treatment was also only effective if a patient, after suffering a brain stroke, was wheeled into a fully equipped hospital within a 4 to 6 hours treatment window. But with emerging advanced healthcare technologies, one of which is mechanical thrombectomy, it is now possible to save a patient from death and long-term disability even after 24 hours of suffering a stroke.
Sharing details about mechanical thrombectomy, which is available only in select medical centres in the private sector in Northern India, Dr (Prof) Vivek Gupta, Additional Director of Interventional Neuroradiology, Fortis Hospital Mohali, said it is a slightly expensive but minimally invasive procedure that involves inserting a catheter into the brain artery to remove the clot. This allows restoration of blood flow and saves a patient from disability or death by increasing treatment window in brain stroke patients till 24 hours.
He said recently mechanical thrombectomy was conducted on a 80-year-old woman from Chandigarh, who was rushed to Fortis Hospital Mohali 8 hours after suffering a stroke. The patient was unable to speak, had left side paralysis, and her condition was deteriorating.
She was immediately put on ventilation in the emergency and one clot each was removed from her brain and neck arteries with angioplasty and mechanical thrombectomy. The patient had a smooth, post-operative recovery and was discharged seven days after the procedure. She has recovered fully and is leading a normal life, Dr Gupta added.
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He said though mechanical thrombectomy is effective in saving patients even 24 hours after suffering a stroke, it is important for the patient to be rushed to a stroke-ready hospital in the shortest possible time to minimise damage to the brain.
Describing a stroke-ready hospital, Dr Gupta said the medical facility must have 24×7 services of emergency, radiology, ICU and a specialist team of a neurologist, neurosurgeon and interventional neuroradiologist all under one roof since mechanical thrombectomy is a highly complex procedure.
Dr Gupta said the complex procedure sure is expensive and can cost a patient anything between Rs 5-7 lakh.
Among the people who are 4-5 times at higher risk of suffering from stroke are diabetics, especially those whose sugar levels are uncontrollable, and people with high blood pressure. Among other high-risk categories are smokers, people with high cholesterol and those with heart disease.
The common symptoms, which occur in 90% of people who suffer from stroke, are sudden loss of body function while performing a routine activity, weakness in the arm, drooping of one side of the face, slurring of speech, etc.
If any of these symptoms occur, immediately arrange to rush the patient to a stroke-ready hospital.
