Mount Nittany Medical Center recently received the Get with the Guidelines Gold Plus Stroke Care Award. That means the hospital consistently follows the latest scientific treatment guidelines for strokes treatment.
On average, one American dies from stroke every four minutes, but many of those deaths could be prevented. The stroke coordinator at a local hospital says newer therapies can save the lives of stroke patients.
Since most strokes are caused by a blood clot, the best therapy is quick use of a clot-busting drug called TPA, but patients have to receive it within three hours of having a stroke.
Mt. Nittany Stroke Coordinator Susan Maynard says, “We’ve seen people come in with severe stroke symptoms we’ve given the TPA and they’ve ben able to go home sometimes with no symptoms at all and sometimes with just very minor symptoms.”
Susan Maynard says quitting smoking or controlling your blood pressure can reduce your risk of stroke by half.
Signs of a stroke include numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side, trouble speaking, and sudden severe headache with no known cause.