tPA is only administered if the symptoms are within a 3 hour window at most ER’s. What happens if you present saying your symptoms started yesterday? Well, first of all you are not fast tracked and wait as a stage or grade 2 patient. Next, you are not eligible to receive any clot busting type medications.

Aldo of importance, how you arrive at the hospital. Yes, believe it or not it does make a difference. If you are having signs or symptoms of a stroke you need to call 911 right away. An ambulance will assure you fast and prompt treatment as well as quicker service on the receiving end. I am a nurse and I can say this with 100% conviction!

Researchers analyzed data on 15,117 patients from 46 hospitals enrolled in the North Carolina Stroke Registry (NCCSR) from January 2005 to April 2008. The majority were ages 45 or older; 54 percent were women; 53 percent of patients arrived by Emergency Medical Service (EMS); and 38 percent received care at hospitals designated as stroke centers. Only 23 percent of all NCCSR patients arrived at the hospital within two hours of symptom onset and were thus suitable for evaluation to receive tPA. Current National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) guidelines recommend that a patient receive a computer tomography (CT) scan within 25 minutes of hospital arrival. In an analysis of 3,549 patients who arrived at the hospital within two hours of symptoms onset, only 23.6 percent received a CT scan within 25 minutes. Among this group, researchers found that those who arrived by ambulance were more than twice as likely to receive a timely CT scan than were those who “walked in” on their own.

What are the signs and symptoms of a stroke:

• 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

via AHA

Post from: Blisstree

Stroke and tPA: The way and speed in which you present is life or death

In a new study, researchers at Harvard University found that the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) may help remodel brain tissue seven to 14 days after a stroke. This is an important finding because current treatment views the MMP-9 enzyme as a hazard, but new therapy may need to harness the power of the enzymes to repair brain tissue.

Just after a stroke—a temporary loss of blood to the brain caused by a clot or burst blood vessel—MMPs chew up damaged brain tissue. This increases the risk of swelling and hemorrhage in the brain. Some current stroke treatment research seeks ways to inhibit MMPs to minimize their danger—but this new study shows that a different approach may be required in the long run.

Learn to recognize the symptoms of stroke in yourself or a loved one:

• 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

Call emergency medical personnel immediately if you experience symptoms.

HHMI News, March 26, 2006

Post from: Blisstree

MMP-9 Enzyme Remodels Brain After Stroke