Fast response to potential stroke can save lives

By JEFF MEYERS
Staff Writer

July 07, 2009 03:26 am

—

symptoms
of stroke

  Sudden numbness or weakness of 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.

PLATTSBURGH — Recognizing the symptoms of stroke and responding rapidly when a stroke is suspected can reduce damage to the brain and can save lives.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of adult disabilities, with 700,000 new or recurring cases being treated in the nation each year.

About half of those who do survive a stroke do not return to work and many end up losing their independence from the damage it has caused to the brain, including 40 percent who need permanent nursing-home care following the incident.

"These people live on, but they live on with a very reduced quality of life," said Plattsburgh neurologist Dr. Karen LeComte, who recently teamed with CVPH Medical Center Director of Emergency Care Dr. Ted Klaudt to give a presentation on stroke.

"Brain cells are extremely sensitive to the loss of oxygen," she told an audience of about 100 area residents

Brain cells use 30 to 50 percent more energy than other body cells, she said.

RISK FACTORS
Strokes are typically caused by blocked blood vessels leading to the brain, though about 15 percent are caused by bleeding within the brain, LeComte noted. A great number of strokes are caused by an irregular heartbeat, called atrial fibrillation, that can produce blood clots.

"Who is at risk?" she asked. "Hypertension (commonly called high blood pressure) is one of the biggest risk factors. Once we started treating hypertension aggressively, we've lowered the prevalence of stroke."

Seeking medical help for high blood pressure and staying on medications to treat the condition is one step in the right direction toward preventing stroke, but several other risk factors can combine to increase the potential.

High cholesterol levels, diabetes, smoking, obesity and lack of exercise can all contribute to stroke, and having more than one or two risk factors compounds the problem.

"If you have one or more of these risk factors, you walk a thin line as far as your destiny goes," LeComte said, noting that the North Country has a high prevalence of many of the risk factors. "We can have an impact on many of these factors if doctors and patients work together as a team. Some of it takes will power and discipline, but they are risk factors we can modify."

RAPID RESPONSE
The signs and symptoms of a stroke can vary depending on what part of the brain it is impacting, but people should be familiar with the symptoms and should seek treatment when there is any question that a stroke might be occurring.

"Don't lie down to see if you'll feel better later," LeComte said. "Call 911, go to the ER. Get help immediately."

The Emergency Department takes potential stroke victims seriously and will move forward rapidly to determine what measures should be immediately taken to treat the patient, Klaudt said.

"The physician will see that patient in less than 15 minutes and ideally in less than five," he said of CVPH Medical Center's Stroke Alert program that initiates action in several areas of the hospital.

CAT Scans, which can find the precise location of a stroke, are ordered immediately, and those results are typically returned within 45 minutes, he added.

If the stroke is verified and has been identified within a three-hour window, the patient is eligible for receiving clot-buster medicine, but patients are screened closely to determine the benefits and drawbacks in taking the medicine before it is administered.

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