Stroke occurs when part of the brain's blood supply gets cut off.
Four years ago, researchers showed that physicians can, in many cases, prevent death or permanent disability from stroke if they give the victims a drug called TPA within three hours of the first symptoms. Last week investigators using another drug therapy proved that the treatment window can be stretched to six hours. Yet most emergency rooms aren't set up to treat a stroke that quickly. And most stroke patients wait an average of 13 hours before seeking medical attention. If so, you face a higher risk of suffering a stroke.