Every effort should be made to educate both individuals at risk and their family members to bring patients with acute stroke symptoms to an acute care facility as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms. Early arrival to a hospital with an acute stroke care unit may considerably improve prognosis. The recognition and prompt management of complications following stroke is important. For several hours after the onset of symptoms, patients with an acute stroke are medically unstable. Several important measures, which could potentially prevent complications, can be applied to the patient with acute stroke.
Most patients have an acute transient increase in their blood pressure.
The presence of fever and hyperglycemia may also adversely affect prognosis and may require prompt attention 143-145 . A major advance in the management of acute stroke which has generated excitement has been the introduction of therapies that may decrease the size of the ischemic infarction and improve outcome. While there is considerable experimental evidence that they may have additive potential when used in combination, to date the two classes of medication have not been tested together in stroke patients. Several different types of thrombolytic agents are used to dissolve blood clots that have led to the stroke. A major problem with the use of thrombolytic therapy after an acute stroke is the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage.