Stroke Booklet 1 | Page 7

STROKE is an Emergency! EVERY MINUTE COUNTS! ACT F.A.S.T. Face Arm Speech Time Facial droop Uneven smile Arm numbness Arm weakness Slurred speech Difficulty speaking or understanding Call 911 and get to the hospital immediately! Have the ambulance go to the nearest certified stroke center • Remember: If you have any of these symptoms, call 911 and your doctor as soon as possible. Notes _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ How a Stroke Occurs • Ischemic stroke occurs when an artery that supplies the brain is greatly narrowed or blocked. This can be caused by a buildup of plaque. It can also occur when small pieces of plaque or blood clot (called emboli) break off into the bloodstream. The emboli flow in the blood until they get stuck in a small blood vessel in the brain. • Healthy Arteries – in a healthy artery, the lining of the artery wall is smooth. This lets blood flow freely from the heart to the rest of the body. The brain gets all the blood it needs to function well. • Damaged Arteries – high blood pressure from other problems can roughen artery walls. This allows plaque to build up in the walls. Blood clots may also form on the plaque. This can narrow the artery and limit blood flow. inserted into one of the major blood vessels in the leg, and is strategically advanced towards the brain using a special video system. Once the blood clot is found, the small catheter is passed into its center where the injection is delivered. After some time, the tPA begins to dissolve the blood clot until blood can flow past the clot towards the area of the stroke. This treatment requires special equipment and trained specialty physicians. It is only available in selected comprehensive stroke hospitals. Treatment for Ischemic Stroke Thrombolytic or “Clot Busting” Medications Another treatment recently developed is the process of removing blood clots that have wandered into a small blood vessel causing it to become occluded. This is done by carefully passing a special device from a blood vessel in the leg all the way into the blood vessel in the brain where the blood clot is trapped. The devise captures the clot and pulls it out of the body, thus returning blood flow to the affected area. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is a thrombolytic agent (clot-busting drug). It’s approved for use in certain patients having a heart attack or stroke. The drug can dissolve blood clots, which cause most heart attacks and strokes. tPA is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the acute (urgent) treatment of ischemic stroke. If given promptly, tPA can significantly reduce the effects of stroke and reduce permanent disability. tPA can only be given to a person within the first four and a half hours after the start of stroke symptoms. What is a TIA? A TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) is an early warning that a stroke (also called a brain attack) is coming. A TIA is a temporary stroke. It causes no lasting damage. But the effects of a stroke, if it happens, can be very serious and lasting. If you think you are having symptoms of a TIA or stroke – even if they don’t last – get medical help right way. The imaging and lab testing is the same for either a stroke or TIA. If you are Endovascular Procedure This treatment, which depending on the location of the stroke in the brain can be given for up to 6 hours after the onset of symptoms, consists of the injection of tPA directly into the blood clot that is causing the stroke. To do this, a special small catheter is 25 6