Dr Jeyaraj D Pandian is the Principal of CMC Ludhiana
World Stroke Organisation is the one voice for stroke. The WSO mission is to reduce the global burden of stroke through more effective prevention, better treatment, and long-term support. The headquarters is in Geneva and WSO has more than 3500 members from across the globe. WSO works closely with World Health Organisation (WHO) in influencing health policies related to stroke treatment and prevention.
Dr Pandian stated that stroke or brain attack is the one of the leading causes of death and disability in India. Each year 1.8 million new stroke cases occur in the country and every 40 seconds one Indian suffers a stroke. One stroke death occurs every 4 minutes in the nation. Stroke is a preventable and treatable disease. High blood pressure is the main cause for stroke.
Dr Pandian’s vision and mission for the next 4 years is to implement stroke units across India and in Asian and African countries. He has been involved in the development of stroke units in district government and the Medical College hospitals in Punjab since 2016. Recently on November 1st along with WSO and NABH he launched the stroke centre certification program for India in New Delhi. CMC Ludhiana is the first stroke centre in India to go through the assessment process. He said that this will pave way for delivering high quality health care to stroke patients in the country.
Kartika Singh with Dr. Pandian |
CMC Ludhiana stroke program is the only center in northwest region to offer highly effective treatment like clot retrieval using stents in blocked arteries (thrombectomy) in the brain. Dr Vivek Aggarwal, Neurointerventionist said that over the last 4 years more than 800 procedures have been done at CMC. He added that the public should be aware about the stroke warning symptoms. Patients present with sudden numbness, paralysis, in one side of the body: sudden trouble speaking, sudden headache, giddiness and unconsciousness. Dr Rajeswar, Associate Professor of Neurology mentioned that patients and relatives should reach CMC quickly to avail the clot bursting injection (0-4.5 hrs) and thrombectomy (0-24hrs).
Dr Loganathan, Rehabilitation physician at CMC said that a new rehabilitation center has been started last month to cater to the stroke patient’s recovery following a stroke. Dr Dorcas Gandhi, Professor of Physiotherapy mentioned that it is very important for stroke patients to undergo regular physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy which will speed up the recovery process. There are low-cost robotic technology available at CMC Stroke program for rehabilitation of stroke patients.
Dr William Bhatti, Director, CMCH lauded the achievements of Dr Pandian and his team. He stated that CMC Stroke program has all the modern facilities to treat stroke patients in the region.