In our region, Charleston Area Medical Center treats 400 patients for this condition that is more likely to strike men than women. CAMC is working to reduce the effects of a stroke. Andy gets checked regularly by his doctor and he hopes he won't wind up in the hospital for a stroke. Strokes are caused by clots in the arteries that cut off the blood flow to the brain. Patients need to get to the hospital within three hours of suffering a stroke.
Medications can then be most effective in reversing or minimizing the damage.
CAMC now follows a procedure that speeds up treatment time. Ambulances radio ahead to alert hospital staff they have a stroke victim. Pullin said the hospital will have blood quickly drawn when the patient arrives and then they will run a cat scan on the patient. A radiologist reads the cat scan, or three dimensional x-ray of the brain, to determine which treatment is best. Dr. Pullin stresses there are 5 major symptoms of strokes that people need to be aware of, such as weakness or numbness to one side of your body, face, arms or legs, a headache that won't go away, speech and vision problems, and dizziness and loss of balance.