The project is one of numerous regional efforts being coordinated nationwide by the American Heart Association under the name Operation Stroke. Since November, volunteers from throughout Summit County have been meeting to discuss strategies for improving stroke care and rehabilitation. Eventually, the project could include community hospitals in the surrounding counties as well, said Dr. Robert A. Lada, director of cerebrovascular medicine at Summa and co-chairman of Summit's Operation Stroke. A similar effort was recently kicked off in Stark County. Volunteers there are in the process of recruiting area hospitals to participate, said Dr. Antonio M. Lazcano, chairman of emergency medicine at Aultman Hospital in Canton and co-chairman of Operation Stroke in Stark County.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart diseases and cancer.
An estimated 600,000 people suffer strokes each year, according to the American Heart Association. About 160,000 of those strokes are fatal. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel supplying oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or gets blocked by a blood clot. Nerve cells in the affected area of the brain can't function and die within minutes. Symptoms can range from severe headache to sudden numbness to trouble speaking, seeing or walking.