Fast Treatment Key to Recovering from Stroke

By Adnan Qureshi, M.D.

Across Minnesota, 10,000 people are admitted to the hospital for stroke care each year; of these patients, 2,300 die. These statistics clearly illustrate the devastating impact stroke has on many families across the state. Unfortunately, some stroke patients may sustain permanent damage because they do not get treatment quickly enough or because they receive inadequate care.

It’s important to remember that strokes are emergencies. The sooner the patient gets to the hospital, the better the chances for effective treatment. Call 911 for any of the following:

• 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 seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

The University of Minnesota Stroke Center and Initiative is tackling strokes using a three-pronged approach: clinical services, education, and research.

Clinically, our hospitals are among the best in the state for stroke care. The medical center has a vascular neurology specialist available 24/7 to rapidly evaluate stroke patients. Nationally, the window of time between when the patient arrives at the hospital and receives treatment is well over an hour. We have worked to cut this time in half because irreversible damage can be inflicted just three hours after the onset of a stroke.

The center is also dedicated to educating the public on strokes, and our team members have spoken at national and international conferences. We’ve also been asked to write guidelines for stroke therapy by the American Stroke Association and American Society of Neuroimaging.

Our team members have also been busy researching new and innovative treatments for strokes.

One of these studies includes researching the cells that line blood vessels to see if they hold clues that may help with early detection of stroke-causing factors, such as the deposition of plaque, which is as dangerous in arteries of the brain as it is in those of the heart.

We’re also testing the safety and benefits of blood pressure medications in the treatment of hemorrhagic stroke and developing new treatments for acute ischemic stroke.

Team members are also working with colleagues at the University’s Stem Cell Institute to study the use of stem cells to repair stroke-damaged brain cells. Another ongoing collaboration is with the epidemiological research group, helping identify new risk factors for stroke.

With these efforts, and many more on the horizon, the members of the Minnesota Stroke Initiative are working to lessen the effect that stroke has on Minnesotans.

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Adnan Qureshi, M.D., is the executive director of the Minnesota Stroke Initiative.

Health Talk & You is an educational service of the University of Minnesota. Advice presented should not take the place of an examination by a health-care professional. For more health-related information, go to http://www.healthtalk.umn.edu/.  For comments or questions about Health Talk & You e-mail buss@umn.edu.