Teaching people to recognize the symptoms of stroke - and act on them quickly - is one of Doylestown Hospital's most important initiatives. Doylestown Hospital's recently established Stroke Resource Center demonstrates that
commitment.
"We now know that certain treatments, if administered in the first three hours after symptoms appear, can interrupt an ischemic stroke," explains Theophila C. Semanoff, MD, medical director of the Stroke Resource Center. "Our goal is to educate people to recognize the symptoms of stroke and get them into the emergency medical system as quickly as possible."
Don't wait to find out. Call 911 immediately if you recognize any of these symptoms of a possible stroke:
Dr. Semanoff urges patients to immediately call 911 instead of waiting out their symptoms. "If you are having any warning signs, however insignificant they may seem, do not wait for them to subside, do not call your family physician, do not check the Internet. Pick up the phone and call 911. The quicker you - 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 eye or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking; dizziness; loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
get to the hospital, the more treatment options you will have, and the better chance of a full recovery," Dr. Semanoff advises.
That initial call sets off a chain of potentially life-saving events. At Doylestown Hospital, patients are evaluated in the Emergency Department (ED) by an acute stroke team that includes ED physicians, ED nurses and a neurologist. If eligible and seen within the three-hour window, patients may receive the clot-busting drug known as tPA (or tissue plasminogen activator). Other treatment options are recommended to those not eligible for tPA.
Nurses trained in stroke care tend to patients. The Stroke Resource Center then coordinates rehabilitation services, including occupational, speech and physical therapies. Doylestown Hospital also conducts monthly support group meetings to assist patients and their families during recovery and beyond.
"We are here for our patients for the long term," Dr. Semanoff adds. "The new center helps us coordinate and optimize their care and makes us a highly effective advocate for stroke patients." For more information, call 215-345-2543.
