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Stroke Care
Treatment
Treatment
Test results provide vital information about a stroke patient’s condition and allow the physician to promptly determine the best course of treatment. Options typically include medication or a procedure to break up the clot and improve or restore blood flow.
Most strokes are ischemic, meaning there is a blockage in an artery that sends blood to the brain. Our specialists can use a drug called tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) to restore blood flow and stop this type of stroke, thus reducing its disabling effects.
The drug needs to be given quickly to do the most good, so there’s no time to waste. From the time stroke symptoms start, doctors have a three-hour window to begin treatment with tPA. However, you should make every effort to get to the hospital much sooner than that – within 60 minutes – according to the National Institutes of Health.
During part of the three-hour window, doctors must first evaluate you and determine what kind of stroke you’re having and whether it can be treated with tPA.