Stroke Care

In Pennsylvania, strokes claimed nearly 9,000 lives in 2000, making it the third highest reason for death in the state.

Stroke: The “Brain Attack” Epidemic

Each year, about 700,000 people in the United States suffer a new or recurrent stroke, making it the third leading cause of death. In Pennsylvania, strokes claimed nearly 9,000 lives in 2000, making it the third highest reason for death in the state. On average, someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 45 seconds, and someone dies of one every three minutes. Six out of 10 victims are women. Stroke is the leading cause of serious disability in the U.S., with about 4.8 million stroke survivors living today.

Fast Stroke Care

A stroke requires immediate emergency care at the right hospital, preferably one that specializes in treating stroke. Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network’s Stroke Alert program gives the stroke patient the best chances for survival of any hospital in the region. We are the only hospital in the area with a formalized acute stroke treatment team and process, including a stroke neurologist and Stroke Rapid Response Team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using the latest and most effective technology and treatments.

An stroke patient’s chance of escaping long-term disability increases dramatically if the patient receives tPA, which we give to eligible patients who come to our hospital within three hours of the start of their stroke. tPA is the only FDA-approved drug for treating strokes.

Two Primary Stroke Centers

Lehigh Valley Hospital—Cedar Crest and Lehigh Valley Hospital—Muhlenberg are the only two hospitals in the region certified as Primary Stroke Centers by The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the same organization that surveys and certifies hospitals.

To earn Primary Stroke Center certification, a hospital must demonstrate compliance with the Brain Attack Coalition’s recommendations, including:

• Having acute stroke rapid response treatment teams (similar to trauma teams in the U.S.)
  
• Operating inpatient stroke care units
• Using pre-written, detailed stroke care protocols
• Having an integrated emergency response system for managing patients experiencing a stroke, with support services including continuously available brain imaging with interpretation and rapid laboratory testing
• Demonstrating a commitment from administration with strong clinical leadership to providing ongoing community education about stroke risks, symptoms and treatment

Setting the Regional Standard for Stroke Treatment

LVH’s Stroke Center leads the region in providing critical care to the stroke victim within a window of time that gives the chance for best recovery:

• 100 percent of eligible patients arriving at LVH less than three hours after stroke onset are treated with tPA.
• More than 75 percent of stroke patients treated with tPA at LVH are discharged to home or rehabilitation.
• Six to 8 percent of stroke patients who come to LVH receive tPA, compared to less than 5 percent who are treated at hospitals nationwide.
• Approximately 25 percent of all patients treated through LVH’s Stroke Alert process within six hours of stroke onset receive tPA.

A Multidisciplinary Team Approach

All stroke victims who come to LVH receive care from a wide range of medical professionals, both primary caregivers and support staff. This approach ensures the chance for the best treatment and leads to the best possible outcomes.

• LVH's Stroke Center is the only area program that offers neurointerventional treatment of acute stroke, including advanced radiological technology, such as computed tomography (CT), computed tomography with angiography, and biplane imaging.
• We have the only dedicated neurointerventional radiologists in the region.
• LVH leads the region in using the American Stroke Association’s “Get with the Guidelines” stroke patient management tool to ensure an outcome-based approach to care.
• Our stroke team includes certified medical professionals in the following specialties: neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neurointerventional radiology, critical care, hospitalists, internal medicine, family practice, emergency medicine, nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy, case management and pastoral care.
• We also have support services available 24 hours a day in pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and vascular testing, plus four MedEvac helicopters.

Stroke Research

Today’s research brings tomorrow’s advancements in stroke prevention and treatment. A key feature of LVH’s Stroke Center is our commitment to searching for new medicines, devices and treatments to limit—or in some cases reverse—the effects of a stroke. Research gives patients access to the latest treatments not available in most other hospitals, such as neurointerventional techniques like brain coiling, stenting and clot retrieval.

Current Stroke Research at LVH:

CREST: Study attempting to reduce the risk of stroke by inserting stents in the carotid artery in at-risk patients.

RESPECT: Study attempting to reduce the risk of stroke by closing patent foramen ovales (PFO), holes in the wall of the heart.

CLEAR: In conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, this trial sponsored by the University of Cincinnati, is assessing the value of combining tPA and Integrilin in the treatment of stroke.

REACT: Study investigating effectiveness of a neuroprotective agent in limiting brain damage within six hours after acute stroke. This agent can be administered with or without tPA.

PROFESS: International study comparing the effectiveness of two FDA-approved antiplatelet medicines in preventing secondary strokes and other vascular events, such as mini-strokes and heart attacks.

LVH Stroke Center Intra-Arterial Protocol: Injection of tPA directly into the clot in the brain, up to six hours after onset of stroke symptoms.

Merci Blood Clot Retriever: LVH’s Stroke Center is the first program in the Lehigh Valley approved to use this tiny corkscrew-shaped wire to remove a stroke-causing blood clot from an artery in the brain and restore blood flow.

CHILIS: University of Southern California-sponsored multi-center study of inducing hypothermia in the body of a stroke victim to 35 degrees C. within 72 hours of stroke to limit brain swelling.

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