He could do nothing and see whether the damage would be permanent. Or, if he consented quickly enough, a specialist could run a toothpick-thin catheter right to the clot in Elaine's brain and dissolve the blockage. Since that nightmare at Strong Memorial Hospital Oct. 16, Elaine Waterman shows little sign of the stroke. In Monroe County, stroke kills more than 400 people each year. But advances in stroke care are saving more lives, lessening long-term disability and lowering health care costs.
Stroke interrupts blood flow to the brain, starving cells of oxygen and vital nutrients.
Strokes can be caused by broken blood vessels, but about 80 percent are caused either by narrowing of the arteries in the brain or by a clot that travels from somewhere else. One of the more common cause is atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that allows blood to pool inside the heart and leads to formation of a clot. With clots, doctors can now use sophisticated imaging equipment to pinpoint quickly where the stroke occurred. Other drugs still being studied would protect the area around stroke just as firefighters wet down houses next to one that's burning. All this may sound too good to be true.