It’s a hectic Tuesday for 37-year-old Gaurav, the principal director of an IT company. Three years ago, he would be pacing up and down, stuck to his phone, talking to his colleagues and clients non-stop, stretching himself on the spectrum of anxiety. That’s what triggered his brain stroke. Today, he is much wiser for it and has learnt to space out his work, draw up a structured routine of deadlines and prioritise some me-time, playing guitar that relaxes him. “There was a time when I worked for 16-18 hours a day as I had to talk to my US clients during their business hours. I hardly slept for three to four hours and never realised when my workdays ended and weekends began. I was constantly chasing targets and milestones. Getting a new client gave me a high, which I would celebrate with binge-drinking. There was a time when I would work on 25 projects simultaneously and I wanted to score big on each. This is the usual drill in the IT industry, so I didn’t think much of it,” he says. Alarm bells rang when one of Gaurav’s younger colleagues, a 29-year-old, collapsed after developing a stroke at work. “That affected me deeply. Little did I know that I was tipping on the edge. One evening, I was on my way to a party with my wife. I had parked my car at the venue when my vision blurred. I couldn’t see on my left side. Then my left side froze. All of this happened in a few seconds and alerted my wife, who is a nurse,” he says. How stress became a risk factor Gaurav’s workaholism had consumed him to such an extent that he fidgeted around while in hospital after the stroke. “Apart from anxiety, he was into excessive alcohol consumption, having four drinks at one go. On investigation, we found that he had high levels of homocysteine. This is an amino acid in your blood that, when present in high levels, can damage blood vessels, increase the risk of blood clots and raise the risk of heart attack, stroke and other health problems,” says Dr Atul Prasad, vice-chairman and head of the neurology department at BLK Max Hospital, Delhi, who treated Gaurav. Luckily, he had no history of diabetes, hypertension or cholesterol, so he recovered quickly without complications. “You don’t need to have family history. Stress and anxiety can raise blood pressure and affect the body’s clotting mechanisms, indirectly increasing stroke risk. Elevated homocysteine levels, often related to nutritional deficiencies, can damage blood vessels and promote clot formation in the brain. Other common risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity and certain heart conditions,” says Dr MV Padma Shrivastava, chairperson, neurology, Paras Health, Gurugram. Dr Prasad has been seeing at least four cases of young brain strokes every month. “Stroke in young patients is primarily because of genetic and lifestyle factors, including smoking, alcohol consumption, party drugs and decreased sleep,” he says. Life after a stroke Once an MRI and a CT angiography test found a clot in his brain, Gaurav was kept in hospital for three days under observation. His clot dissolved and he had no muscle weakness or paralysis. He is now on blood thinners as a precautionary measure apart from cholesterol and triglyceride-lowering medicines. Once he felt better and changed his lifestyle completely, he didn’t need his anti-anxiety pills. Now Gaurav cannot do without his 5-km walk daily. He eats clean, choosing low-salt meals and avoiding fried food items. He has given up smoking.“I feel totally normal now. I take a break from the screen and walk for 10 minutes after every two hours,” he says. Rehabilitation should begin as early as possible after a stroke. “It usually includes physiotherapy to regain mobility, speech therapy if communication is affected, occupational therapy to relearn daily activities and psychological support if needed. A structured rehabilitation plan helps patients work toward regaining independence and improving quality of life,” says Dr Shrivastava. But the key to awareness is internalising a life-long discipline to reduce the risk of recurrence. “Patients should take their prescribed medications regularly and not ignore follow-ups. Diet, exercise, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight help in prevention,” she adds.
