September 26, 2016
The most important thing to know when a stroke happens is to move quickly. That’s the message shared by Marshall Medical Center’s stroke coordinator speaking to the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) group in Albertville.
“If you get to the hospital soon enough, we can reduce the risk of those long-term effects,” warned Allison Trammell, a nurse at Marshall North who is working to educate our community about strokes.
The numbers are scary. Every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke. It is the fifth highest cause of death in the country.
“It’s a very common thing we see happening these days,” she says.
That’s why Marshall Medical joined the North Alabama Stroke Network, which connects 10 hospitals with a group of neurologists in Huntsville. The network makes 24-hour access to a neurologist possible for rural communities.
Called teleneurology, the network allows a physician in Huntsville to evaluate a patient miles away using a high-definition camera. If the patient qualifies, the neurologist can order a clot-bursting drug called TPA to be administered. Patients who receive TPA are three times more likely to recover with no debilitating effects than stroke patients who don’t get it, Trammell says.
The key is that the drug can only be given within a short time after symptoms begin, requiring stroke victims to get to the closest emergency room as soon as possible. “We want to act fast when it comes to a stroke,” Trammell says. An acronym makes it easy to remember how to recognize a stroke – FAST.
F – Face drooping
A – Arm weakness
S – Speech difficulty
T – Time to call 911
Trammell also shared Life’s Simple 7 to help prevent a stroke:
Manage blood pressure
Control cholesterol
Reduce blood sugar
Get active
Eat better
Lose weight
Stop smoking