It is a common notion among people that 'brain attack' or 'stroke' and 'heart attack' are one and the same. There is also a profound lack of knowledge of common risk factors and symptoms of stroke. Inability of bystanders to recognize the common symptoms of stroke is a major hurdle in appropriate management of patients with stroke as golden hour is lost, specially in India where the pre-hospital services are not well organized. Treatment within the first 8 hours of onset of symptoms is most effective and prevents long term morbidity and mortality.
It is estimated that one person dies of stroke every 36 seconds in India. In a study conducted among the rural population in Maharashtra in 2012, only 51% of the 373 respondents were able to correctly identify 'stroke' as a disorder of the brain, while 19% associated it with heart attack! Also, one third of the respondents (34%) did not know…
