Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Sep;15(3):128-34.
doi: 10.5853/jos.2013.15.3.128. Epub 2013 Sep 27.

Stroke epidemiology and stroke care services in India

Jeyaraj Durai Pandian  1 , Paulin Sudhan  2
Affiliations
Review

Stroke epidemiology and stroke care services in India

Jeyaraj Durai Pandian et al. J Stroke. 2013 Sep.

Abstract

Developing countries like India are facing a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in India. The estimated adjusted prevalence rate of stroke range, 84-262/100,000 in rural and 334-424/100,000 in urban areas. The incidence rate is 119-145/100,000 based on the recent population based studies. There is also a wide variation in case fatality rates with the highest being 42% in Kolkata. Stroke units are predominantly available in urban areas that too in private hospitals. Intravenous (IV) and intra-arterial thrombolysis (IA) are commonly used in India. In the on-going Indo USA National stroke registry the rate of IV thrombolysis is 11%. Stroke rehabilitation is not well developed in India due to lack of personnel. Organised rehabilitation services are available in the country but they are mainly in private hospitals of the cities. Even though India is a leading generic drugs producer still many people can't afford the commonly used secondary prevention drugs. As a first step the Government of India has started the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases & Stroke (NPCDCS). The government is focusing on early diagnosis, management, infrastructure, public awareness and capacity building at different levels of health care for all the non-communicable diseases including stroke. An organised effort from both the government and the private sector is needed to tackle the stroke epidemic in India.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Incidence; India; Rehabilitation; Stroke; Stroke unit.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of India showing the different places where stroke incidence study has been done.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of stroke subtypes in the various incidence studies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
28-day case fatality rates in hospital and community from the Mumbai and Bangalore registries.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of post-stroke disability at 28 days from the onset of stroke among stroke survivors.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Stroke subtypes in the population-based Ludhiana stroke registry.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Components of stroke care unit.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Nationwide data of numbers of patients treated with intravenous rtPA during 2009-2011.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Secular trend of intravenous rt PA treatment in Ludhiana city over two study periods.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bonita R, Beaglehole R. Stroke prevention in poor countries. Time for action. Stroke. 2007;38:2871–2872. - PubMed
    1. Pandian JD, Srikanth V, Read SJ, Thrift AG. Poverty and stroke in India. A time to act. Stroke. 2007;38:3063–3069. - PubMed
    1. Abraham J, Rao PS, Inbaraj SG, Shetty G, Jose CJ. An epidemiological study of hemiplegia due to stroke in South India. Stroke. 1970;1:477–481. - PubMed
    1. Prasad K, Vibha D, Meenakshi Cerebrovascular disease in South Asia - Part I: A burning problem. JRSM Cardiovasc Dis. 2012;1:20. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bansal BC, Prakash C, Jain AL, Brahmanandam KR. Cerebro-vascular disease in young individuals below the age of 40 years. Neurol India. 1973;21:11–18. - PubMed