Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015 - (Page 4)

A Stroke of Good Luck A father recovers thanks to fast, expert emergency treatment and a miracle clot-busting drug I t was supposed to be a relaxing evening on the back porch for two friends after dinner at a local restaurant. Jack Machen of Towson and his brother-in-law Alex Montague drove in separate cars back to Machen's house. Machen arrived ﬁrst but, he recalls, "I lost control of the car in my driveway and banged into my son's car." Montague soon pulled into the driveway and rushed to Machen's side. "His car was still running, the headlights were on, "There is a three-hour window from the time stroke symptoms start to when treatment with tPA should begin," explains Stroke Center Coordinator Kirsten KrummelMcCracken, RN, of UM St. Joseph. "TPA is a short-acting drug and I took one look at him and thought, 'He's having a given intravenously that breaks apart a clot, restoring blood stroke.' He couldn't talk to me, and one side of his face ﬂow to the brain, allowing functions to start coming back. was drooping," recalls Montague, who called 911. "Jack TPA cannot be used for hemorrhagic strokes, so it's impor- is the last person anyone would think could have a tant to diagnose accurately and quickly using a CT scan." stroke. He climbs mountains and jogs 4 miles a day." Montague's fast recognition of the stroke and his emergency call were critical to his brother-inlaw's well-being. An ambulance arrived and rushed The EMS team transporting Machen to UM St. Joseph alerted the Emergency Department, and the stroke team was standing by upon his arrival. Machen to University of Maryland St. Joseph GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY Medical Center, which is a Primary Stroke Center Board-certiﬁed emergency physician Mark Olaf, DO, who with a Certiﬁcate of Distinction award from The treated Machen, explains: "We follow the National Institute Joint Commission. of Health's recommended guidelines to quickly identify DIFFERENT STROKES and treat stroke. Available, cutting-edge studies tell us that reducing time to evaluate and treat stroke leads to improved There are two types of stroke: a hemorrhagic stroke, patient outcomes. Part of our initiative is to work with EMS to caused by a bleeding blood vessel, and an ischemic take patients directly from the ambulance to our CT scanner stroke, caused by a blockage in the artery to the without stopping. Additionally, our pharmacy is on standby brain. Speed is important in treating both types, but to deliver the drug as soon as needed. If a patient is a can- patients with an ischemic stroke may be candidates didate, our ultimate goal is to start tPA within 60 minutes of for a clot-busting drug known as tPA-if they get the patient's arrival." to a stroke center in time. Eighty-ﬁve percent of all strokes are ischemic, which was the case for Machen. 4 MARYLAND'S HEALTH MATTERS "This golden hour for starting tPA for optimal treatment was modeled after the same concept created by the University of  Learn more about what you need to know about stroke

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015

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Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015