Clinical profile of stroke in Kashmir

ABSTRACT

Stroke is a major health problem in the world ranking among the top three causes of death, after heart disease and cancer in developed countries. We prospectively studied one hundred patients of acute cerebrovascular accident who presented to accident and emergency department. Definite diagnosis was done by cranial imaging. This was conducted last year in our hospital which is a tertiary care hospital in Kashmir valley catering a population of 7 million. We documented hemorrhagic stroke in 79 patients (79%) while 21 patients (21%) had occlusive stroke which is in contrast with most of the studies done earlier (most western studies). Risk factors viz., hypertension, smoking were contributing to the high incidence of stroke. Majority of the patients presented in the 5th to 7th decade, consistent with other studies. Majority of the patients presented during awake phase and presented with maximum neurodeficit at onset. Majority of the patients had hemiplegia (paresis) 71%. Basal ganglia was the major site of bleed 49.4%. Dietary habits, extremes of climate and decreased physical activity predispose to high incidence of strokes.