With a five-star rating from HealthGrades and certification from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the Primary Stroke Center at Holy Name Hospital provides comprehensive services that quickly intervene to lessen the effects of a stroke, stabilize the patient, and then return him/her to everyday functioning.
Board-certified emergency medicine physicians and nurses certified in emergency care evaluate, assess, and monitor immediately all patients coming to Holy Name's award-winning Emergency Medicine Department with signs and symptoms of stroke. A standard diagnostic protocol of tests (including blood work and CT scan) is begun right away. If appropriate, a "clot-busting" medication called t-PA is administered if the patient is within a three-hour window of the onset of experiencing symptoms. Other medications may also be given, as determined by the emergency medicine physicians.
Once patients are stabilized, they are admitted to the intensive care unit or Holy Name's designated stroke unit, where board-certified neurologists and specially-trained and certified nurses continue their medical care. If prescribed by their physicians, patients are evaluated for physical, occupational, speech, or swallowing therapy to improve functioning. Once patients are discharged from Holy Name, home care services are available to provide a smooth, seamless transition to recovery.
Stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain stops or is dramatically reduced. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States behind heart disease.
People of all ages and ethnic backgrounds have strokes, but certain risk factors make you even more susceptible. Your risk for stroke rises as you age, and it's higher if you have a family history of the disease. African-Americans are at a higher-than-average risk, and each year 40,000 more women than men have a stroke. If you've had a transient ischemic stroke (TIA), also called a "warning stroke," you’re also more likely to suffer a full stroke.
You can act to reduce your chances of having a stroke by eating well (including lots of fruits and vegetables), exercising regularly, quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and working with your doctor to manage conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and carotid artery disease.
Primary Stroke Center Leadership
Mark Haase, MD, Medical Director
Donna Stringer, RN, Stroke Center Coordinator
Seek immediate emergency care if you experience:
• 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
Stroke risks include:
- High blood pressure
- Inactivity
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- Cigarette smoking
- Excessive alcohol use
- High red blood cell count
- Drug abuse
- High cholesterol