Prof Jeyaraj Pandian

While I was a consultant neurologist in India in the early 2000s, one of my patients was a middle-aged woman who had a major stroke. While she got treatment and survived her stroke, she was left paralysed on her right side. By coincidence, my patient's daughter was a first-year undergraduate at the Christian Medical College Ludhiana where I was based. I learned that our student had made the decision to quit her course so that she could care for her mother. The incident made me realise that the impact of stroke extends far beyond the patient, affiecting families, By virtue of the number of people who passed through our hospital as a result of stroke, it was clear that while the patients' brain is the eipcentre of stroke the shock undermines the broader health of our community. This realization fuelled a passion in me to improve stroke care in India - from acute care to rehabilitation. As President of the World Stroke Organization, I feel grateful to have the opportunity to drive change that will reduce the impact on indivduals and society - particularly in low income countries where the burden is growing fastest.