Stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States and the No. 1 cause of adult disability. Strokes occur when blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted or reduced. If blood supply is stopped, the brain will not only stop receiving blood, but also oxygen. When this occurs, brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs. It is critical to get to a hospital immediately when suffering a stroke because 1.9 million neurons are lost every minute of a stroke.
When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain, such as speech, movement, memory and some vision could be lost.
Stroke Risk Factors
- High blood pressure (>120 / 80)
- Age 55 or older
- African American race
- History of TIA
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- High Cholesterol
- Obesity (BMI >25)
- Atrial fibrillation
- Sleep apnea
- Family history of stroke
Dedicated Stroke Care
UofL Health – Jewish Hospital offers specialized stroke care for stroke patients that is tailored directly to their needs. We ensure that our nursing staff is kept up to date on all new education and advancements when it comes to caring for stroke patients. Additionally, several of our nurses have obtained their Stroke Certified Registered Nurse (SCRN) certification demonstrating their expertise in stroke care.
UofL Health – Jewish Hospital also offers a wide range of stroke services aside from our nursing care that includes physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and social workers. Our priority is helping our patients reach their goals both physically and mentally post-stroke.
We believe that it’s important to start the rehabilitation process as early as possible to maximize recovery and get patients back to their lives. Our rehabilitation process begins at the beside during hospitalization, directly following patient stabilization, and continues throughout outpatient follow-up.
Awards and Recognition
Get with the Guidelines: Stroke
The Joint Commission Certified Primary Stroke Centers at UofL Health – Jewish Hospital part of the UofL Health – Brain & Spine Institute, provide the standard of stroke care to support better patient outcomes. The facility is a recipient of the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The award recognizes UofL Health – Jewish Hospital's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care, ensuring patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards.
UofL Health – Stroke
Jewish Hospital is proud to be part of the UofL Health – Stroke. With five hospitals, multiple ambulatory care centers, tele-stroke sites, outpatient clinics and stroke support groups, our stroke program will guide you from diagnosis to recovery. As part of our network, the experts at UofL Health – Comprehensive Stroke Center are always available for urgent consultation. UofL Hospital, as the first stroke center in Kentucky, continues to offer the latest technologies for eligible patients such as thrombectomy. By treating thousands of stroke patients per year at UofL Health, we remain true experts in stroke.
Quality Measures/Public Reporting
What is Public Reporting?
Public Reporting is information that is readily available to the public regarding a health care organization’s quality and safety of care. It can help organizations improve their services, but more importantly, this information may also help educate consumers and health care purchasers in making informed choices about their health care and the procedures performed.
What are Stroke Core Measures or Quality Reports?
The Joint Commission is an organization that accredits hospitals and health care organizations across the country. They seek to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. Stroke quality measure reports provide an overview of how well an accredited organization or certified program is performing with stroke-specific Joint Commission requirements and standards.
What is/are GWTG?
Get With The Guidelines®(GWTG)-Stroke (GWTG-S)® was developed by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) as a national stroke registry and performance improvement program. The primary goal of the GWTG-S® registry is to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients hospitalized with a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). The GWTG-S® registry helps achieve this goal in a variety of ways, allowing hospitals to benchmark themselves against other like facilities, stroke research, promoting stroke center certification, supporting hospital-level quality improvement initiatives and supporting the development, growth and monitoring of regional stroke systems of care.
The below procedures are commonly performed in the diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment of stroke.
Table 1: Ischemic stroke patients with successful post-mechanical endovascular reperfusion of greater than 50% of the vascular territory beyond the target occlusion.
Helpful Definitions
Complication Rate: The complication rates are a percentage representing the number of patients experiencing complications related to the total number of people that had the procedure performed.
Carotid Stent: A procedure where a flexible, metallic type, tube-shaped mesh, called a stent, is implanted into the carotid artery via your upper thigh/groin area to help support the vessel walls which helps keep the artery open for blood to flow more regularly. These procedures are often performed by neuro-interventionalists, interventional cardiologists and/or vascular surgeons in a radiology suite with special imaging equipment.
Carotid Endarterectomy (CEA): A surgery to remove the fat buildup (plaque) or cholesterol deposits that are creating narrowing and blockages of your carotid arteries. This is performed by a surgeon in the operating room.
Diagnostic Angiogram: An invasive imaging procedure that provides high-definition view of the blood vessels of your brain and/or neck. Sometimes the angiogram is done as a diagnostic tool to look at the blood vessels to see if there are any abnormalities.
Endovascular Thrombectomy (EVT):
In acute stroke patients with a large vessel occlusion (LVO), an invasive procedure may be performed to retrieve the clot. This is called endovascular therapy or EVT. This may also be referred to as mechanical thrombectomy (MT) by some providers. During this procedure, a physician places a catheter through a blood vessel (artery) in the arm or leg directly up to the blood vessel in the brain where the clot is blocking blood flow to brain tissue. The clot is then removed by inserting a device into the blood clot and pulling the clot out. The AHA/ASA nationally recommended hospital time goal for this procedure is retrieving the blood clot from the blocked blood vessel within 120 minutes of patient arrival to the hospital.
