Through cutting-edge technology, we offer stroke survivors a range of advanced treatments, including:
Tenecteplase
Tenecteplase is a medication given intravenously to people with ischemic stroke to quickly dissolve blood clots and restore blood flow to the brain. This treatment works best if given in the first three hours following the onset of symptoms. While the medicine can decrease the chances of a disability after a stroke, it does not decrease the chance of a future stroke.
Endovascular Stroke Treatment
Our Neurointerventional team provides evaluation and treatment of stroke emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Baptist Health delivers advanced endovascular stroke treatment which can improve patient outcomes if performed within 24 hours after symptoms begin.
Treatments provided include:
- Mechanical Thrombectomy for acute stroke – For large blood clots, a thrombectomy is performed using a device called a stent retriever and/or an aspiration catheter to remove the clot. A catheter is inserted into an artery in the groin and guided to the blocked artery in the brain. The stent retriever and/or aspiration catheter then grabs the clot, allowing doctors to remove it with a goal to provide reperfusion to the brain
- Cerebral Aneurysm Repair – A brain aneurysm is a weak area in a blood vessel wall that causes the vessel to bulge or balloon and sometimes burst causing a subarachnoid hemorrhage in the brain. Endovascular repair is performed using a coil or coiling/stenting procedure. This is a less invasive way to treat some aneurysms.
- Carotid Angioplasty/Stenting – Angioplasty is a procedure to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels to restore blood flow. A tiny balloon is temporarily inserted in the clogged artery and inflated to widen the area. This is often combined with stenting to help decrease the chance of the artery clogging again.
- Cerebral Angiography – This test provides images of blood vessels in and around the brain. It enables physicians to detect abnormalities such as narrowing of blood vessels, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and aneurysms.
- Carotid Artery Endarterectomy – If you have carotid artery disease, an endarterectomy can help prevent a stroke from occurring. When plaque builds up in the carotid artery, it can reduce blood flow to the brain. During this procedure, the artery is opened and cleaned to improve blood flow.
- Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation treatment – Spinal AVM is a rare and abnormal tangling of the blood vessels at the end of the spinal cord. To treat an AVM, physicians use a combination of embolization (closing off blood vessels) and microsurgery.
Stroke Rehabilitation
Stroke rehabilitation can help you recover from the effects of stroke, relearn skills and find new ways to perform tasks. Rehabilitation depends on many variables, including the following:
- Cause, location, and severity of stroke
- Type and degree of any impairments and disabilities from the stroke
- Overall health of the patient
- Family support
Rehabilitation of the patient with a stroke begins during the acute treatment phase. As the patient’s condition improves, a more extensive rehabilitation program is often begun.
The goal of stroke rehabilitation is to help the patient return to the highest level of function and independence possible, while improving the overall quality of life – physically, emotionally, and socially. Rehabilitation is designed to meet each person’s specific needs, and each patient’s care plan is different. Some general treatment components for stroke rehabilitation programs include the following:
- Treating the basic disease and preventing complications
- Treating the disability and improving function
- Providing adaptive tools and altering the environment
- Teaching the patient and family and helping them adapt to lifestyle changes