Best Brain Stroke Treatment in Hyderabad, India

Brain stroke patient treatment requires emergency care & attention. The earlier the treatment, the better the recovery of the patient from brain stroke. For successful treatment of brain stroke, rapid and correct diagnosis of the kind of stroke and the exact location of its damage are essential. Generally, the best treatment for brain stroke includes:

• Medical management
• Surgical management
• Rehabilitation
  

Emergency Stroke Care

• Medicines: Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the primary treatment for an ischemic stroke. A tissue plasminogen activator is injected into a vein in the arm. It breaks and dissolves the blood clots, thus helping to restore (or) regain blood flow to the brain. It is generally recommended within 4.5 hours of stroke occurrence. Brain scans must be done and should confirm the ischemic stroke before using clot-busting agents, as they may worsen bleeding in some cases of haemorrhagic stroke. Anticoagulant or blood-thinning medicine may also be used when tPA is unavailable as they help stop blood clots from getting larger. According to some of the studies, people who received tPA within 3 hours of stroke symptoms have greater chances of recovery and less disability compared to the people who did not receive tPA injection. Mainly, anticoagulants may be used in atrial fibrillation (type of irregular heartbeat) or deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

       Medications like beta-blockers, alpha-blockers, calcium channel blockers, thiazide diuretics, and angiotensin-            converting enzyme inhibitors can decrease blood pressure in stroke patients.

        Statins are advised in patients who have high levels of cholesterol, thus decreasing the risk of stroke.

• Surgical procedures:
• Angioplasty and stenting procedures: consist of a thin tube that can insert a balloon or small mesh tube into the artery. Gently blowing up the balloon or expanding the mesh tube clears space for more effortless blood flow to the brain. The stent retriever traps the clot. Stent retrievers, including blood clots, are pulled out through the tube.

• Thrombectomy: It is an emergency procedure to treat a small number of severe ischaemic strokes caused by a blood clot in a large artery in the brain. Thrombectomy restores blood flow to the brain by removing blood clots. The thrombectomy procedure is done using local Anesthesia or general Anesthesia and involves catheter insertion into an artery, usually in the groin. A small device is passed into the artery in the brain through the catheter; thus, the device helps remove the blood clot.



• Carotid endarterectomy: The buildup of fatty deposits (plaque) causing the narrowing of a carotid artery (carotid stenosis) can be removed surgically by a carotid endarterectomy procedure. It involves an incision or cut in the neck to open the carotid artery and eliminate fat deposits.

Medicines: Antihypertensives are used to reduce the blood pressure. IV fluids are often used to help control or minimize brain swelling. People who have been using anticoagulants (or) blood thinning medicines need to be stopped, as they increase the bleeding in haemorrhagic stroke. Vitamin K may be advised to reduce bleeding.

Surgical procedures: Coil embolization, blood transfusion, draining excess fluid, surgery, or radiation may be used to remove or shrink an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). 

• Craniotomy, an emergency surgery, may be performed to remove pooled blood by repairing the burst blood vessels. It involves temporarily removing part of the skull to reduce swelling. The surgeon may replace the part of the skull after bleeding has been stopped by removing the blood clots that restrict blood flow to the brain. Shunt surgery is done in hydrocephalus condition (excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain). Hydrocephalus may develop symptoms like headache, vomiting, loss of balance, and drowsiness. During the shunt surgery, a shunt (a thin tube) is implanted in the brain, to remove the excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.

• Aneurysm clipping involves placing a tiny clamp at the base of the aneurysm. It helps in stopping bleeding from an aneurysm and prevents the bursting of an aneurysm again.

• Coil embolization: A catheter (flexible tube) is inserted into an artery in the upper thigh region, and a tiny coil is pushed through the tube into an aneurysm. Thus, it blocks the blood flow and prevents aneurysm from bursting again.

Clot-Busting Therapy (Thrombolysis)

Mechanical Thrombectomy

Rehabilitation is the most crucial aspect of the treatment of stroke. Rehabilitation includes:

• Speech therapy: It helps stroke patients improve their ability to speak and understand speech. 

• Physical therapy: It involves exercises, heat, and massage and helps stroke patients regain lost movements and coordination.

• Occupational therapy: It helps in improving the daily activities of stroke patients, like bathing, cooking, eating, dressing, drinking, reading, and writing.

• Psychiatric therapy: It helps in reducing depression or emotional disturbances in stroke patients.
  

Neurologists & Neurosurgeons' primary goal is improving the quality of care in stroke patients.

Thrombolytic therapy

It dissolves the dangerous intravascular clots and prevents ischemic damage by improving the blood flow to the brain. It is also known as fibrinolytic therapy.

Some of the criteria for thrombolytic therapy:

1. It must be the acute ischemic type of stroke
2. There should be no evidence of bleeding on a plain C.T scan of the brain
3. Treatment should start within 4.5 hrs of symptoms initiation.
4. There should be no history of significant head trauma or major stroke in the past three months
5. There should be no history of myocardial infarction in the past three months
6. No major surgery in the past 14 days
7. There should be no history of aneurysm, angioma, or arterio-venous malformations.
8. Blood pressure should not be high. It should be less than 185/110 mm Hg
9. The patient should not be on oral anticoagulants; INR should be less than or equal to 1.7
10. There should be no thrombocytopenia (low platelet count). Platelets should be more than or equal to 1,00,000
11. Informed consent of the patient or caregiver is a must

Considerations of surgery for ischemic stroke: Patients with middle cerebral artery (M.C.A.) infarction need to follow the criteria below for undergoing decompressive hemicraniectomy and should be operated on within 48 hours. 

1. Age should be 60 or below 60 years
2. The Glasgow coma scale (level of consciousness) should be between 6 and 13
3. C.T. scan showing at least 50% of the M.C.A. territory infarct.

Cerebrovascular accident (brain stroke) prognosis

Brain stroke patients requires emergency treatment. The best treatment for brain stroke is highly dependent on the extent of damage, structures involved, area involved, time of diagnosis, and time of initiation of treatment.

The earlier the treatment, the better the recovery of the patient from brain stroke. Strokes that affect consciousness and occur on the left side of the brain (responsible for language) may be severe; for people who have a history of dementia, brain stroke recovery treatment is limited. Older people may progress less well than younger people. If the haemorrhagic stroke is not so large and if the intracranial pressure is not that high, then the outcome may be better than ischemic stroke with the same symptoms.

Brain Stroke Treatment Cost in Hyderabad, India

At PACE Hospitals, we provide advanced brain stroke treatment in India with world-class medical care at affordable costs. To ensure hassle-free access to quality treatment, we offer cashless treatment options and accept major health insurance plans, making brain stroke treatment more accessible for patients. Our expert stroke specialists, 24/7 emergency care, and state-of-the-art facilities ensure the best possible recovery outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Brain Stroke

What are the symptoms of a brain stroke?

The symptoms of brain stroke are sudden difficulty in speaking, difficulty in coming up with words, including slurred speech, sudden weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, sudden confusion and difficulty in understanding speech, loss of balance and coordination, dizziness, sudden loss of sensations, abnormal sensations on one side of the body, and blurring of vision (dimness).

Recognizing stroke symptoms early can save lives. Remember BE FAST:

B – Balance loss

E – Eyesight changes

F – Face drooping

A – Arm weakness

S – Speech difficulties

T – Time to call emergency services

Why is surgery needed for brain stroke?

In some emergency conditions, surgery may be needed to remove any blood from the brain to repair any burst or injured blood vessels and to restore normal blood supply to the brain.

What are the complications of thrombectomy surgery?

The complications of thrombectomy surgery include heavy bleeding (that may even cause death), infection at the site, damage to the blood vessels near blood clot, Anesthesia reaction, groin hematoma, pulmonary embolism, and vessel perforation.

Why do people get brain stroke?

People get brain stroke because of hypertension (high blood pressure), smoking, heavy consumption of alcohol, diabetes (high blood sugar), high cholesterol, family history of stroke, history of heart diseases, and use of illicit drugs.

What is the prognosis of a brain stroke?

The prognosis of brain stroke is highly dependent on the extent of damage, structures involved, area involved, time of diagnosis, and time of initiation of treatment. The earlier the treatment, the better the recovery of the patient from brain stroke.

What injections are used for brain stroke?

Ischemic strokes can be treated by using Tissue plasminogen activator injections. They are injected into a vein in the arm. It breaks and dissolves the blood clots, thus helping to restore (or) regain blood flow to the brain.