Brain stroke rate highest in Cuttack among all cities of India, says ICMR study

Brain stroke is the third largest killer in India after heart attack and cancer. A brain stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrients to the brain is blocked by a clot or bursts, causing the brain to starve.

If deprived of oxygen for even a short period of time, the brain cells begin to die. Once this happens, the part of the body controlled by that section of the brain is affected, impairing language, motor skills or vision or causing paralysis.

A latest study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed that Cuttack reports the maximum instances of brain stroke cases among cities in India.

As per the study which was conducted for nearly two years, around 187 people in every one lakh population suffered from this brain stroke in Cutttack, while in Cachar district it registered 96 people per one lakh population.

The study ‘Stroke Incidence and Mortality: A Report of the Population based Stroke Registries, India, which was released on Wednesday, was conducted by the National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR) in ICMR’s Bengaluru unit.

A population based stroke registry was set up in five different regions of the country, such as North-Varanasi, West-Kota, East-Cuttack, South-Tirunelveli. It was conducted to address the nationwide gap in data on stroke instances among adults in India.

SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack district of Odisha, Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Cachar district of Assam, Tirunelveli Medical College in Tamil Nadu, Government Medical College in Kota of Rajasthan and Institute of Medical Sciences along with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) from Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh were part of the study.

Among the stroke cases reported, 217 males out of every 1 lakh male population suffer the disease in a year and it occured in the age group of 45 years and above.

The study also analysed that three major risk factors are associated with the stroke patients. In Cuttack, hypertension and tobacco is the highest risk factor for the brain stroke compared to other cities in India.

Varanasi seeks the top chart with 46 brain stroke deaths out of every 1 lakh population, followed by Kota which is the lowest at 15.3 deaths, while Cuttack with 31 deaths per 1 lakh population.