HEALTH

Prolonged stay at high altitudes results 
in stroke: study
By Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Long-term stay at high-altitude areas is associated with a higher risk of stroke, mostly affecting young individuals. This has been brought out by a recent study, claimed to be the first ever on this subject, by the Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir.

“A high incidence of stroke was found in men stationed at high and extreme altitude for extended periods,” the study states. Hospital data revealed that the overall incidence was significantly higher in patients coming in from these areas as compared to those from low altitude.

“The incidence of cerebrovascular complications was noted to be at least 12 times higher at high altitude, which is statistically highly significant,” the study states. Strokes in the young formed 12.8 out of every 1,000 admissions in the hospital from high altitude, while the admission rate was only 1.04 per 1,000 in non-high altitude cases.

A total of 26,009 patients were admitted to the hospital from November 1998, to July, 2000, out of which 2,184 were cases transferred in from medical units situated at high altitude. These patients had been deployed at heights above 4,270 metres.

Among patients from high altitude, there were 30 cases of stroke, of which 28 were cases of stroke in the young, that is persons below the age of 45 years. Among the remaining 23,825 patients from non-high altitude areas admitted during the study period, there were a total of 25 cases with stroke in the young.

Stroke, says the study, is a disease with high mortality and morbidity, which assumes greater significance when it occurs in the young, more so when affected persons are serving soldiers.

With the operational commitments of the Indian Army at heights over 5,000 metres above sea level, the human body is faced with the ultimate test for survival in adverse environmental conditions giving medical specialists a unique opportunity to observe some problems hitherto unknown in medical literature. “This is possibly the first study to document the unique profile of cerebrovascular disorders resulting in stroke in low-landers staying for extended periods at high and extreme altitude,” the study, undertaken by five Army doctors at the hospital, claims.

Except for short-term mountaineering expeditions, low-landers do not stay at high and extreme altitude for an extended period of time, and hence, very little is known about the medical problems of such a unique group.

The average age group of stroke patients, their stay at high altitude ranging upto 19 months, was 33.4 years, while that of non-high altitude patients was 37.2 years. Only five out of the former were smokers and one had a history of excessive consumption of alcohol.

The study also revealed that 14 out of the 30 high altitudes stroke cases had massive infraction, which occupied 50 pert cent of a hemisphere in atleast one cut in CT scan.

Interestingly, the study mentions that none of the conventional risk factors of stroke were noted in the high altitude area patients, though 25 out of 30 patients had a secondary disorder. A special note had been taken of the patients smoking habits, drug intake, total stay at high-altitude areas and events prior to onset of symptoms, including dehydration. In addition to routine clinical data, past or family history of thrombotic complications was also sought.

NSS talk on healthy society
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — The NSS unit of Punjab Engineering College in collaboration with the NSS department of Panjab University organised a deliberation on “Youth for a healthy society” at the college campus here yesterday.

College teachers and more than 150 NSS volunteers participated in the discussion. Dr C.L. Narang, Director, NSS, Panjab University, stated that a healthy society cannot be created until the youth participate in national development programmes.

Dr Bhushan Kumar, Head, Department of Skin, PGI, also spoke on the occasion and stated that students are the messengers of the community and can carry a message far and wide. Dr M.L. Gupta, programme officer of NSS in the college, cautioned the students about falling moral values, leading to health problems.

SPORT

61 juniors turn up for Xmas golf camp
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — The Chandigarh Golf Association’s Christmas coaching camp for juniors got under way at the CGA Golf Range yesterday. The premises of the range was transformed into a vibrant atmosphere of intense excitement and expectations as 61 children belonging to various schools namely St. Stephen’s, St. Anne’s, St. Xavier’s, St. Kabir, Vivek High School, St. John’s and New Public School arrived for the golf coaching camp, the first of its kind. As a matter of fact, an almost equal number of children had to be held back with the promise of a similar camp during the next break in the academic session — after the final exams in March/April 2001.

The coaching camp is being conducted by Col (Retd) Nirmal Singh, Director of the Hero Honda CGA Golf Academy, with voluntary help from well known young city golfers Vikramjit Singh and Mandhar Saddi, who are being trained by the CGA for the forthcoming National Games, and Lt Col J.S. Sekhon a serving army officer and a very seasoned golfer. Col (Retd) B.S. Chahal, Joint Secy of the CGA, is making an invaluable contribution by way of his experiences in golf coaching in Canada. He is a full-time golf teacher at a golf driving range in Brampton, Canada.

Mr D.P. Azad, president of the CGA, said the Hero Honda CGA Golf Academy would be able to more than double its intake of trainees in the next camp. By that time more training equipments and other accessories would be procured to enhance the coaching facilities at the Golf Academy. He also hoped that sponsorship would go a long way in enabling the CGA to hold many more such camps.

Talking to the media Mr J.S. Cheema, Senior Vice-President of the CGA, said the CGA would have an ongoing programme of continuous golf coaching for talented young golfers spotted during the various camps.

Neha wins tennis title
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Neha Singh won the under-16 girls’ title in the Chandigarh Scholarship Tennis Tournament played on the Lake Club courts here. She defeated Simer in the final, 6-2, 6-3. Shiva Sangwan will meet Uday Kiran in the under-10 boys’ final of the tournament. In the semi-finals, Shiva beat Arjun Sehgal, 6-2, 6-2, while Uday defeated Amit Chauhan, 6-1, 6-0.

In the under-14 boys’ section, Yuvraj Chaudhary, a Class VII student of the Sector 15 DAV Public School, beat Sanam K. Singh, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. In the other semi-final, Ardaman Sidhu defeated Harneet Singh, 2-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3).

Jitin Bishnoi will meet Anup Anand in the under-18 boys’ final. In the semi-finals played today, Jitin beat Sikandar Jaitley, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. Anup beat Ardaman Sidhu, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Coaches promoted:
Two senior coaches of the Sector 42 regional office of the Sports Authority of India, R.K. Bhanot (football) and K.D.S. Nagra (weightlifting) have been made chief coaches. Dr P.C. Kashyap, Regional Director of the SAI, said, out of the 49 coaches promoted all over the country, 10 were from this region.

The two men and another badminton coach, Mr N.C. Puri, have been asked to monitor the work of coaches in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Mr Bhanot is posted in the Sector 8 DAV Senior Secondary School, while Mr Nagra is on the Panjab University campus. Anil Gupta, senior badminton coach at Patiala, has also been made a chief coach.

Badminton meet:
DAV College, Chandigarh, beat BAM Khalsa College, Garhshankar, 3-0, in the Panjab University Inter-College Zonal Badminton Tournament on the PU campus here. The PU campus team beat the Sector 11 Government College, 3-0.

In the women’s section, the Sector 36 MCM DAV College beat the Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, 2-0. The PU campus team beat Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, 2-0, and the Sector 11 Government College for Girls beat Government College, Hoshiarpur, 2-0.

Athletics trials:
The Amateur Athletics Association of Chandigarh will hold trials on December 21 in the Sector 46 Sports Complex here to select the UT team for the Junior National Athletics Championship. The meet will be held in Bangalore from January 17 to 21. According to Mr Ravinder Chaudhary, Secretary of the association, entries for the trials close with Mr Iqbal Singh at the venue.

Taekwondo team:
A ten-member taekwondo team comprising students of Chaman Vatika Residential Public School near Ambala attended a 12-day annual training camp in Seoul (South Korea) past week. They had been invited by the Sang Rok World Taekwondo Academy of Korea.

The academy is being run by Master Chang Seong Dong. Students from Israel, Germany and Spain took part in the camp.

The team comprised Navrinderjit Singh Gill (Class IX), Chankya Dutt (Class IV), Parv Goyal (Class III), Vidhur Dutt (Class VII), Gurmeet Chadha (Class VIII), Kavita Aggarwal (Class VII), Chirag Wadhwa (Class VIII), Kushank Wadhwa (Class X), Mukul Saini (Class IX) and Radhika Aggarwal (Class XI). Amit Sharma, a black-belt holder, accompanied the team.

ADMINISTRATION

5 cases against ‘unknown employees’ registered
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — In less than a week after power supply to the city was allegedly disrupted due to sabotage, the Chandigarh police has registered five cases against yet “unknown employees” of the UT Electricity Department.

The first information report, under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act have been registered on the directions of the Superintendent of Police, Mr Baldev Singh.

The cases have been registered with the Central, West, Industrial Area, Sectors 19 and 36 police stations, respectively, on separate complaints lodged by the area Executive Engineers and other officials of the Electricity Department.

In his complaint submitted to the authorities at the Central police station, the Assistant Executive Engineer of Subdivision No. 4 alleged that public property at the 11 KV oil circuit breaker in Sector 17-D was damaged by “unknown employees participating in the strike on December 12”.

The second complaint, submitted by the Executive Engineer, Division No. 1 to officials at the West police station, alleged that public property at the 300 KV transformer in Sector 24 was damaged by employees.

In the third complaint handed over to the authorities at the Industrial Area police station, the Executive Engineer, Electricity Construction Division, alleged that property at the vital 66-KV grid substation in the Industrial Area was damaged.

The fourth complaint, lodged with the Sector 19 police station by the Executive Engineer, Electricity Operation Division No. 2, alleged that the striking officials damaged property at the 33-KV substations in Sectors 18, 19, 20 and 21, besides at the 66-KV substation in Sector 20.

In the fifth complaint lodged with the Sector 36 police station, the Executive Engineer with the Electricity Division alleged that property in Sectors 42 and 43 was damaged.

A senior police official, when contacted, said investigations into the allegations were on.

It may be recalled that 40 per cent of the city had plunged into darkness on December 12 after “public property” was allegedly damaged by certain employees of the UT Electricity Department on strike as part of the nationwide protest by the power employees against the privatisation move.