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Generally, there are three treatment stages for stroke:
prevention, acute and intensive care, and post-stroke
recovery and rehabilitation. Acute stroke therapies try
to stop a stroke while it is happening and minimize the
damage it can cause. Intensive care is required following
intervention to ensure that unaffected portions of the
brain do not become damaged and to prevent complications
— many of which could prove life threatening.
The options for treating stroke during the acute phase
have evolved dramatically since the 1990s. For example,
new drugs can open clogged vessels. And in the hands
of skilled neuro-interventionalists, miniature mechanical
tools can be placed in arteries in minimally invasive
procedures to remove clots involved in ischemic stroke
or seal off a ruptured aneurysm involved in hemorrhagic
stroke.
A comprehensive stroke center offers the widest range
of treatment options. One that is affiliated with a
teaching institution may even offer “next-generation”
treatment options that are investigational or in clinical
trials and not yet widely available. Treatment at a
comprehensive stroke center, which is prepared around
the clock to respond to acute stroke, greatly increases
a patient’s chance of survival with no or minimal
disabilities.
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Treatment
& Rehabilitation
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