Vim & Vigor - Spring 2020 - Community Healthcare System - 19

Better
Outcomes for
Stroke Patients

Community Healthcare System hospitals are taking the necessary steps
to advance the delivery of timely,
complex care in Northwest Indiana.
Discover more about stroke care at
COMHS.org/stroke.

When Aneurysm
Leads to Stroke

and coiling, a newer, less invasive procedure
where the aneurysm is accessed via a catheter
in an artery (usually in the groin) and treated
by inserting a coil or other device that prevents blood from flowing into the aneurysm.
Clarke's doctors opted for coiling for her
first aneurysm in 2011.
In 2013, to treat her second aneurysm,
doctors again decided on coiling, but during
the procedure it became necessary to open
her skull to clip the bulging artery.

PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES

Recovery and a Way Forward

Clarke, fortunately, made a full recovery.
"I am now at a hundred percent," she wrote
in The New Yorker.
Not only did she go back to work as an
actor, but she also helped develop a charity,
called SameYou, that she says aims to provide
treatment for people recovering from brain
injuries and stroke.
As she looks to the future, past the
eight-season show that launched her career,
she wrote, "There is something gratifying,
and beyond lucky, about coming to the end
of Thrones. I'm so happy to be here to see the
end of this story and the beginning of whatever comes next." *

1.5x

Increase in
risk of a brain
aneurysm
that women
have over men
in America
Source: Brain
Aneurysm
Foundation

Symptoms of a brain aneurysm-blurred
vision, facial drooping and headache-
can mimic a stroke. The treatments for
each are different, but getting quick medical care is crucial in both cases.
What's more, an aneurysm can actually lead to a hemorrhagic stroke, which
occurs when there is a ruptured blood
vessel in the brain. While hemorrhagic
strokes are less frequent than ischemic
strokes (those that are caused by a clot
or blockage), they are more deadly.
Of the more than 2,000 strokes
that occur in Northwest Indiana each
year, about 20 percent are hemorrhagic, where bleeding or hemorrhaging occurs in the blood vessels, says
neurosurgeon Demetrius Lopes, MD,
Community Hospital, Munster.
"As they say, 'time is brain'," he says.
"The sooner we can implement the correct treatment for the type of stroke, the
better the outcome."
That makes it important to choose
a hospital with the expertise to correctly diagnose these conditions.
Community Hospital, Munster, has
been designated as a Comprehensive
Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.
St. Catherine Hospital and
St. Mary Medical Center have received
Gold Seals of Approval™ from The Joint
Commission as Primary Stroke Centers.
These specialized stroke teams are
trained and equipped to diagnose and
treat stroke symptoms quickly.
In addition to inpatient care for stroke
patients, the hospitals offer a full continuum of stroke treatment, rehabilitation,
support and intensive rehabilitation at
the Community Stroke &
Rehabilitation Center in Crown Point.
Ongoing education for patients and families plus free stroke support groups are
also available to all stroke patients.

VIM & VIGOR SPRING 2020

http://www.COMHS.org/stroke

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2020 - Community Healthcare System

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