Rani Mukerjee joins the World Stroke Campaign

Ludhiana:: Dr Jeyaraj D Pandian, Professor of Neurology and Stroke Neurologist from Christian Medical College, Ludhiana in a press conference announced that Ms Rani Mukerjee, Indian film actress and Bollywood celebrity,  has joined the “1 in 6” campaign as goodwill ambassador of the Indian Stroke Association  and the World Stroke Organization.

Stroke or Brain attack is the second leading cause of death for people above 60 years and a leading cause of disability throughout the world. Every six seconds, regardless of age or gender someone somewhere will die from stroke. In fact, stroke is responsible for more deaths every year than those attributed to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria put together.

Ms Rani Mukerjee was officially announced as an Indian Stroke Ambassador in a press conference held by the Indian Stroke Association in Mumbai on February 23. She has committed the next three years to being the voice for stroke in India.  As a first step in pledging her support and in contributing towards awareness and treatment of stroke across India, the actress has established the Rani Mukerjee Stroke Treatment Fund in collaboration with the Indian Stroke Association. The actress’ charity fund will initially be used to treat 25 stroke survivors who are unable to afford the necessary clot bursting drug (rtPA) treatment.

The actress cited two of her close family members’ recent stroke attacks as an impetus for her to join the cause. “In our country stroke is the third largest killer and is also, the leading cause of adult disability. It will be my privilege to support the Indian Stroke Association and in its pioneering efforts towards awareness, diagnosis and appropriate management of the condition,” underscores Mukerjee. 

Dr Pandian, who is also a Board of Director to World Stroke Organization from Southeast Asia says that in India 40% of the stroke patients die within 1 month after stroke. There are two types of stroke; ischemic when there is blockage of arteries due to a clot, and hemorrhagic (brain hemorrhage) when the artery ruptures. Majority of the patients reach the hospital very late. If they reach within 4 ½ hours patients can receive the clot bursting drug called rtPA. So far over the last 2 years in the CMC Stroke Unit 33 patients have received this drug which is the highest for this period in Northwest India.

Dr Pandian said that stroke patients present with a variety of symptoms. They are sudden weakness of one side of face, arm and leg; sudden trouble speaking; sudden trouble understanding; sudden numbness in one side; sudden imbalance; sudden loss of vision; sudden headache and giddiness. If someone experiences these symptoms they should rush to CMC or call CMC Ambulance number: 98148 29301. Dr Pandian also said that the common causes of stroke are hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, smoking, overweight  and unhealthy lifestyle. He also mentioned that stroke is preventable.

Mrs Ruma Singh, Mrs Dilpreet Kaur and Ms Arshi Mangat, Dieticians of CMC stated that stroke can be prevented by consuming healthy food, adapting regular exercise and also by reducing weight. After a stroke, patient needs a coordinated multidisciplinary rehabilitation says Dr Santosh Mathangi who is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician in CMC. The other therapists who contribute to the multidisciplinary stroke rehabilitation are Ms Rajni Arora (Neurophysiotherapist), Ms Gagan Toor (Physiotherapist), Ms Dimple (Occupational therapist) and Mr Sanjeev Kumar (Speech Therapist). The stroke rehabilitation team is also involved in many research projects and randomized controlled trials.

Dr Kanwal Masih, Medical Superindent lauded the efforts of Stroke Unit in CMC in giving quality care and also raising the public awareness of stroke.Shalu Arora & Sheeba Singh