Clinical Profile of Stroke Patients With Reference to the Presence and Duration of Modifiable Risk Factors

Abstract

BACKGROUND Stroke or brain attack is the sudden loss of neurological function caused by interruption of the blood flow to the brain. Ischaemic stroke is the most common type, affecting about 80 percent of individuals with stroke and results when a clot blocks or impairs blood flow. In hemorrhagic stroke, rupture of blood vessel leads to accumulation of blood, depriving the brain of essential oxygen and nutrients. If clinical symptoms persist even after 24 hrs. or imaging is suggestive of any new lesion, it is termed as stroke. In clinical practice, various types of neurological deficits are possible, including impairment of consciousness and of sensory, motor, cognitive, perceptual, and language abilities. METHODS 120 patients participated in the study. The primary objective of our study was to find out the role/prevalence of various modifiable risk factors in primary stroke patients. We also tried to find out the synergistic effect of various risk factors, lag period between appearance of risk factor and occurrence of stroke and effect of various risk factors on physiotherapy indices. RESULTS Results showed that out of 120 patients, as many as 103 patients were hypertensive, 57 were diabetics and 48 were smokers. Significant numbers of patients were not aware of their blood pressure and diabetic status. CONCLUSIONS In our study, hypertension by far was the most prevalent factor for causing stroke; this was followed by diabetes and smoking as modifiable risk factors. Hypertension and smoking formed the lethal combination in many patients.