Prevention of Stroke in India

Stroke, also called as ‘Brain Attack’, occurs due to loss of blood flow to the brain. When the loss of blood supply is for a prolonged period, it can lead to permanent neurological damage or death. Many a time, fatty substancesline the inner wall of the blood vessels forming a plaque, thus narrowing the artery and reducing flow of blood to the brain. This is called the Carotid Artery disease, and is one of the primary causes for Stroke

Some patients can have no symptoms related to narrowing of the carotid artery, while others can have symptoms like:

Patients over the age of 50 years, are diabetic and smokers need to be screened for narrowing of the carotid artery. This can be done by ultrasound – colourdoppler. Early diagnosis can help in modifying risk factors and starting treatment.

Prevention of stroke takes high precedence as it can cause irreversible neurological damage. This is possible by medical intervention as well as lifestyle changes to keep fit and reduce cholesterol. Medical intervention in prevention of stroke is decided after conducting multiple tests,by way of vascular surgery or carotid angioplasty.Carotid angioplasty, also called as Carotid stenting is a non-surgical and minimally invasive procedure.

Carotid stenting is a contemporary treatment method. This minimally invasive procedure is performed in a catheterization laboratory by an Interventional Radiologist (IR). In the carotid stenting procedure, a stent (a small mesh tube) is introduced in thediseased/narrowed portion of the artery under local anaesthesia, and gently expanded to open up the blood vessel. A Filter device is placed distally to capture dislodged plaque fragments.Dr. Jathin Krishna Rai, the chief Interventional Radiologist is experienced in carotid angioplastyprocedures in Mumbai.