Strokes no longer an old-age malady: Doctors
The Statesman | 6 September 2025This assumes special significance in the wake of what Dr Jayanta Roy, organising secretary, Indian Stroke Association (ISA) and neurologist at Manipal Hospital says. “Stroke affects people in their most productive years irrespective of their age and impacts families socially and economically in Kolkata. Beyond the financial stress, untreated and late treated strokes often leave patients permanently disabled creating lifelong challenges,” says Dr Roy.
If Indian Stroke Association’s (ISA) official estimates are to be believed, they indicate that 73 per cent of India’s stroke patients arrive at medical facilities too late to benefit from life-saving treatments with average delays exceeding 11 hours. It is no more an old-age malady as many less than 40 years get a brain stroke due to life style problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions and skipping home cooked food.
Interestingly, nearly 80 per cent of strokes are preventable with lifestyle changes and urges everyone to remember ‘BE FAST’ warning signs — Balance, Eyes, Face, Arm, Speech, Time — and seek medical help within the ‘golden hours’, the first 4.5 hours after stroke symptoms appear. This can save lives and significantly reduce the chances of long-term disability.
ISA feels that brain stroke is now a full-blown public health crisis in West Bengal as patients reach hospitals late because families often fail to recognize symptoms or underestimate the urgency. ISA is now building up ‘Time to Act’ campaign and initiative, through which it seeks to empower every citizen to spot the warning signs instantly and seek immediate help. The organisation also wants general practitioners, who are often the first contact, to have the training to guide patients correctly. This is a race against time, and every second counts. Kolkata must lead India in making stroke response fast, efficient, and life-saving.
One such initiative: “Stroke Summer School 2025” organised by ISA aimed at training young neurologists in stroke medicine with a participation of 150 students from across India. The “Time to Act” campaign aims to tackle challenges head-on by enhancing the capacity of general physicians in Kolkata to recognize early signs of stroke, improving referral networks to designated stroke centres, and fostering community awareness through education on the FAST test (face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, time to hospital). By empowering both healthcare professionals and the public, ISA seeks to reduce response times and ultimately save lives.
ISA feels that in Kolkata, one of the biggest hurdle faced is in the delay in reaching a hospital in time. Patient families waste precious hours. The ‘Time to Act’ campaign will help strengthen referral systems and train physicians across the city to quickly identify stroke and guide patients directly to specialised centres.
One must also remember that public education is equally vital—people must understand that a drooping face, slurred speech, or sudden weakness in the arms is a medical emergency. By acting fast, one can drastically improve survival rates and outcomes in Kolkata. This initiative will bring together doctors, hospitals, and communities to fight stroke and explain stroke affects people in their most productive years, irrespective of age, and impacts families socially and economically in Kolkata. Beyond the financial stress, untreated or late-treated strokes often leave patients permanently disabled, creating lifelong challenges.
