Annual deaths due to strokes could be as high as 10 million by 2050: Report

Strokes, a highly preventable and treatable condition, could lead to nearly 10 million deaths annually by 2050, mostly affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a report says.

The prediction comes from a joint effort by the World Stroke Organization and the Lancet Neurology Commission (LNC), within which four studies have been published.

The report, published in the Lancet Neurology journal, said stroke deaths are expected to rise from 6.6 million in 2020 to 9.7 million by 2050.

The report highlights the critical role of evidence-based, pragmatic solutions in combating the crisis and makes 12 recommendations to address stroke-related deaths. These include stroke monitoring, prevention, emergency care and rehabilitation.

The report recommends the creation of cost-effective surveillance systems for accurate epidemiologic data on stroke to guide prevention and treatment.

It also proposes raising public awareness and promoting healthier lifestyles through extensive use of mobile and digital technologies, including education and awareness.

It also emphasizes the prioritization of careful planning of acute stroke care services, capacity building, training, provision of appropriate equipment, treatment, affordable medicines and allocation of adequate resources.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Rajiv Bal said evidence-based stroke care should be implemented to mitigate damage and prevent new strokes.

ICMR is actively involved in developing country-specific models for ambulatory care at the primary care level to combat NCDs, he said.

“The Government of India is committed to formulating evidence-based policies and implementing them through the National Program for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD),” he added.

A notable success has been the Indian Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI), which has used technological innovations to digitally monitor over two million patients, achieving real-time blood pressure control in 50 percent of cases, Bal said.

Professor Jeyaraj Pandian, president-elect of the World Stroke Organization and lead author of the panel, said there was a need to carefully examine the factors leading to the increase in stroke deaths.

Dr. Ivy Sebastian, a neurologist and stroke fellow in Calgary, Canada, and lead author of the report on Stroke Care Systems in Southeast Asia, called for timely interventions such as intravenous thrombolysis, thrombectomy, and stroke unit care. provided through stroke-ready centers.

Dr. Yogeshwar Kalkonde, lead author of the “Stroke Surveillance in Southeast Asia” paper, said that India’s National Stroke Registry Program and Thailand’s national database can serve as valuable sources of epidemiologic data on strokes.

Dr. Prashant Mathur, Director, National Center for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), ICMR, Bangalore, highlighted the importance of national hospital-based stroke registries and population-based stroke registries conducted by ICMR across India.

Dr. Meenakshi Sharma, Scientist-G in ICMR’s Division of Noncommunicable Diseases, highlighted the development of stroke care models in India and highlighted the importance of screening and treatment of high blood pressure, which is being done through the Hypertension Control Initiative in India .