When it Comes to Stroke, ‘Time is Brain’
Effective new medical treatments developed over the past decade are saving
the lives of stroke patients – but family, friends, coworkers, emergency
medical personnel and health care professionals must work together to recognize
the signs of stroke and move quickly to get patients the critical care they
need, experts caution.
Intravenous and intra-arterial therapies, along with anti-clotting drugs,
can unclog blocked blood vessels that cause stroke and dramatically improve
blood flow to the brain, increasing the odds of a patient’s full recovery.
However, patients must receive these treatments within critical windows of
opportunity. Stroke experts say the intravenous therapy is effective only
within the first three hours following a stroke, and the intra-arterial therapy
only within the first six hours.
“Time is critical for stroke patients,” stressed Kerry Brega, MD,
a neurosurgeon who directs the stroke program at University of Colorado Hospital. “There
is no question that the results would be best if all patients could be treated
within the first hour or two. In order to get these therapies to a patient
quickly many disciplines must work together as a cohesive team and with protocols
that have been well established.”
Strokes are caused by ruptured or blocked blood vessels in the brain, and
brain tissue deprived of blood – and therefore oxygen – will
degenerate. Left untreated or not treated in time, strokes can kill people
or leave them with long-term, debilitating injuries. Side effects can include
paralysis, memory loss and speech and vision impairments. Balance is affected,
too, and about 40 percent of patients suffer serious falls within a year
of experiencing a stroke, according to the American Stroke Association.
Dr. Brega said a combination of new drug therapies and quick medical intervention
can vastly improve a stroke patient’s long-term outlook. Unfortunately,
newer treatments are not given often or fast enough. In fact, only 2 to 3
percent of patients receive timely treatment, according to statistics cited
by Dr. Brega.
“The brain cannot tolerate long periods without blood flow and if the flow
cannot be reestablished quickly, the brain may already be dead in the area
where the vessel was blocked,” the neurosurgeon noted.
To minimize the time a stroke patient goes undiagnosed and untreated, University
of Colorado Hospital recently established a Stroke Team comprised of a multidisciplinary
group of physicians, nurses and technicians trained to rapidly identify and
treat people experiencing strokes. The team is staffed by personnel from
neurosurgery and neuro-critical care, neurology, neuro-radiology, interventional
radiology, and emergency medicine.
The hospital’s doctors, nurses and other health care professionals
treat a broad array of neurological disorders, and ongoing research gives
them an edge when it comes to understanding stroke and best-of-practice treatments
for patients.
When it comes to stroke, time is of the essence. According to the American
Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, an American
suffers a stroke every 45 seconds.
Among the association’s other statistics:
•
Stroke kills nearly163,000 Americans a year.
•
Cardiovascular disease is the third-leading cause of death in the United
States after heart disease and cancer.
•
This year, Americans will pay about $57 billion for stroke-related medical
costs and disability.
Stroke warning signs include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm
or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion; trouble speaking
or understanding; sudden trouble walking; dizziness; loss of balance or coordination;
trouble seeing in one or both eyes, or sudden severe headache with no known
cause.
Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of exercise and obesity
all can contribute to an increased risk for stroke.
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