KARACHI: An estimated 1,000 people have major or minor strokes in Pakistan. Of them, 400 die the same day while around 200 or 250 suffer disability for life.

This was shared by senior neurologists at a press conference held on Tuesday in connection with World Stroke Day at the Karachi Press Club.

The event was organised by Pakistan Stroke Society (PSS) in collaboration with Neurology Awareness and Research Foundation (NARF), Pakistan Islamic Medical Association and PharmEvo, a local pharmaceutical firm.

According to experts, Covid-19 has emerged as a serious risk factor for stroke and it has increased the occurrence of stroke across the world.

Now, they pointed out, smokers and patients with diabetes and hypertension were more at risk of having stroke, if they contracted coronavirus, calling upon the government to launch stroke prevention programmes.

“There is an urgent need to have a national stroke treatment centre and a stroke research institute in Karachi,” said president of NARF Prof Muhammad Wasey.

He said hardly 250 out of 100,000 people reportedly had a stroke in Pakistan in 2005.

General secretary of PSS Dr Ravi Shankar said a stroke was an emergency and timely proper intervention could save life.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2020