Suffered mild stroke six weeks ago, says Zerodha's Nithin Kamath

New Delhi: A self-professed fitness enthusiast, 44-year-old Nithin Kamath, co-founder and chief executive officer of stock broking platform Zerodha, in an X (formerly Twitter) post on Monday, revealed that he’d suffered from a mild stroke around six weeks ago that he is still recovering from.

The stroke came out of the blue, and could have likely been caused by the recent death of his father, and other lifestyle related issues like poor sleep, exhaustion, dehydration, and overworking out, he added.

Kamath further revealed that a big droop in his face has started to improve, and he is being able to read and write better and has become more present minded, adding that full recovery could take anywhere between 3 to 6 months.

“I wondered why a person who’s fit and takes care of himself could be affected. The doctor said you need to know when you need to shift the gears down a bit,” the unicorn founder tweeted, with a picture of him on the treadmill that he has continued working out on.

At around 2 lakh reported cases each year, India has the highest incidence of stroke cases in the world, with an incidence of 68.6% and 70.9% stroke deaths, according to a report by Global Burden of Diseases (GBD).

Incidentally, stroke-related illness is more prevalent in urban areas compared to rural areas, possibly due to stress, pollution, unhealthy dietary choices and other lifestyle issues, which are exacerbated by other diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

While nearly 31% of the cases account for people below the age of 20, the episodes of brain strokes among people under the age of 45 is on the rise in India. It currently is the fourth leading cause of death and the fifth leading cause of disability in the country.

Nithin Kamath, along with his younger brother and co-founder of Zerodha, Nikhil Kamath, were part of the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2023, having donated Rs 110 crore that year. In fact, Nikhil’s was the youngest philanthropist name on the list. According to media reports, back in 2021, the brothers had decided to donate a quarter of their wealth and committed to channelling Rs 750 crore over three years to this end.