World Stroke Congress to begin tomorrow

In a first, India will be hosting the 10th World Stroke Congress (WSC) here tomorrow.
Nearly 2,100 delegates from different parts of the world are expected to attend the event jointly organised by the World Stroke Organisation (WSO), the world's leading organisation in the fight against stroke, and the Indian Stroke Association (ISA).
The World Stroke Congress is held once in two years.
The event will have joint sessions with World Health Organisation (WHO), World Hypertension League, Asia Pacific Stroke Organisation, European Stroke Organisation, American Stroke Association, World Federation of Neuro Rehabilitation, Indian Federation of Neuro Rehabilitation and Indian Academy of Neurology.

"These important sessions will focus on key issues related to stroke care and policies," said Prof Werner Hacke, the WSC Oversight Committee Chair and incoming President of WSO, in a statement.
The WSO would be releasing the Road Map for stroke care during the four-day conference.

WSO's mission is to reduce the global burden of stroke through prevention, treatment and long term care. WSO collaborates closely with the WHO, the statement said.
Stroke is a major cause of disability and death worldwide, according to the statement, which said a large proportion of strokes occur in low and middle income countries like India.

"In India, 1.7 million new stroke cases occur every year. It affects young people in India during their productive period of life. Stroke care infrastructure is developed mainly in private hospitals with most of the public hospitals being ill-equipped to treat stroke patients," said Jeyaraj Pandian, WSC Co-Chair from India.