Roughly a fourth of the Indian population has access to a rehabilitation centre within an hour of experiencing an ischaemic stroke—caused when a blood clot affects supply to the brain, a study found. The research, published in the International Journal of Stroke, also estimated that there is less than one ischaemic stroke centre per million population. Ischaemic stroke is the most common, accounting for about 70-80 per cent of all strokes in India, according to a September 2024 study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.
In the recent study, researchers, including those from the US’ Ascension Health and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Hyderabad, found that a total of 566 stroke centres equipped with the ‘intravenous thrombolysis’ method of treatment (which breaks up blood clots) were spread across 26 states and union territories. Of the 566, over 60 per cent (361) were found to be also equipped with endovascular therapy for stroke patients, considered superior. Typically, an ischaemic stroke patient was 115 kilometres away from the nearest intravenous thrombolysis treatment centre and about 130 kilometres away from the nearest endovascular therapy centre, the researchers found.
Further, a little over 26 per cent of the Indian population can access intravenous thrombolysis centre in under an hour, while about a fifth can access endovascular therapy centre. The data on “intravenous thrombolysis capable (IVT-C) and endovascular treatment capabl.
