15 Minutes Matters With Strokes

THURSDAY, July 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) – Only 15 minutes can make all the difference when an individual suffers a stroke, according to a new study.

The study included more than 6,700 patients in the US and Canada who have had ischemic stroke (blocked blood flow in the brain) and who have been treated with anticoagulant therapy.

Out of 1,000 patients whose treatment started 15 minutes earlier after arriving at the hospital, 15 fewer died or needed care in a hospice after leaving the hospital, 17 more were able to get out of the hospital without help, and 22 others were able to take care of themselves after leaving the hospital.

The median time between arrival at the hospital and the start of treatment was 1 hour 27 minutes and the median time between onset of stroke symptoms and treatment was 3 hours 50 minutes , concluded the investigators.

The researchers also found that the start of treatment tends to take longer for stroke patients who arrive at the hospital on weekends, holidays and before 7 am and after 6 pm. in Week.

"We are trying to improve treatments with better staffing outside of office hours and faster dispatch of doctors to the call," said co-lead author of the study, Dr. Reza Jahan , Professor of Interventional Neuroradiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Patients who arrive at the hospital at 2 in the morning should not be treated differently than people who arrive at 2 pm," Jahan added in a press release issued by the university.

The researchers also found that treatment delays are more likely for patients who live alone or who do not recognize that they have a stroke, according to the study published July 16 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study's findings prompted the American Heart Association to issue new targets on how quickly patients should be treated in comprehensive stroke treatment centers, according to Jahan.

Every year, about 795,000 people in the United States suffer from stroke and about 140,000 die. Ischemic stroke accounts for 87% of all strokes.

More information

The American Stroke Association has more on the treatment of stroke.