But it's imperative the drug is given quickly. The study found that fewer than one in five stroke sufferers in the Twin Cities gets to a hospital within the first few hours of having a stroke. By not getting there immediately, patients cannot be considered for the stroke drugs, Smith said. Prior to the study, Smith knew that people were delaying going to the hospital after suffering stroke symptoms. She wanted to prove it on paper and prompt people in the Twin Cities, especially, to be aware of stroke symptoms and of the treatments available.
Strokes can debilitate the people they affect, causing confusion, speech loss or paralysis.
Those things may be avoided if drugs are given within hours of the onset of a stroke. Someone in the United States suffers a stroke every minute, and someone dies from one every three minutes, Smith said. MaryEllen Berman is a senior nurse and stroke researcher at the University of Minnesota . She has headed up educational efforts to teach people about risks and symptoms of strokes. She and several volunteers put together an educational video that is available to anyone for free.