Can a hand “steal” blood from the brain? Yes, say doctors at a private hospital in Bengaluru who last week diagnosed a not-so-common condition in a 72-year-old patient from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh.
For the last two months, the patient was finding it difficult to speak, particularly when using his left hand for work. He had already suffered a stroke twice. Following a thorough investigation by doctors, it was found that the left hand of the patient was “stealing” blood from the brain as the left side of the subclavian artery through which blood is meant to flow to the hand arteries was blocked due to cholesterol build up, in a condition called Subclavian Steal Syndrome.
“The solution was simple. Just give blood to the hand, so that it stops stealing blood from the brain. We did stenting of cholesterol blocks. Immediately, his stroke symptoms stopped,” said Harsha K.J., Stroke and Neuro-Intervention Specialist Brains Super Speciality Hospital in the city.
