Brain stroke at 39!

Doctors blame lifestyle changes for bringing down age when people suffer from the ailment

Surya Prakash, 39, a senior executive with a leading pharmaceutical company, could not forget the dreadful night when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his body. It was around 1 am at night when Prakash woke up and found that he was unable to move his body. When he went to the hospital, he was shocked to know that he has got a brain stroke at this age.


Life on wheels: Surya Prakash suffered a brain stroke due to his
hectic lifestyle. Pic/Mid Day

"I was sleeping at home when I felt a terrible pain in the left side of my body. Till the time I visited the hospital, I was unable to move my body. I was completely frozen," said Prakash. Doctors later told him that the left side of his body has been paralysed.

According to the doctors, earlier people in the age group of 55-65 years would suffer from brain strokes. Now, due to a rapid change in lifestyle, the age bracket has been reduced to 35-45 years. "Changes in lifestyle are leading to such problems at an early age. We call it 'stroke in the young'. Surya was living an extremely hectic lifestyle with only three-four hours of sleep a day. In fact, he came back from Chandigarh the same night when he suffered the stroke," said Dr Atul Prasad, Head of Neurology, Fortis Escorts and senior neurologists at Fortis, Vasant Kunj.

Heart of the matter
According to doctors, the same factors that cause heart attack are at play here too. These include clogged arteries, diabetes, stressful lifestyle, hypertension, tobacco consumption etc. It is just that awareness regarding brain stroke is much lower than cardiac attack.

Every second person would be in a position to relate chest pain with heart attack, but barely anyone would know that sudden weakness or numbness in certain parts of the body could lead to brain attack.
Early to fall

u00a0"One in every five persons suffers from brain stroke at an early stage. But young people have better chances to survive. The chances are more than 60 per cent in their case. We are giving Prakash medical treatment including physiotherapy, but he has to make sure that there is no recurrence," added Dr Prasad. Sadly, Prakash is now on a wheel chair and due to the weakness in his legs he is now paralysed for at least two to six months.
"I have been asked to change my lifestyle completely. I have quit smoking and have been asked to eat healthy food, and not touch junk food. Due to the nature of my work, I used to travel quite frequently, but now I have been asked to travel less," added Prakash.

Quick facts
Factors responsible for Brain Stroke
Hyper tension, high blood pressure (BP), diabetes, high cholesterol, excess body fat, smoking, alcohol and stress.

The effects
>>u00a0Inability to speak
>>u00a0Unable to hold pen or spoon due to sudden weakness in fingers
>>u00a0Incapable of walking

How it is caused
In brain stroke, like heart attack, a blockage in the arteries lead to obstruction in blood flow and if not detected on time can lead to serious consequences as lifetime paralysis.