New Jersey now has five hospitals that have been designated as comprehensive stroke centers, meaning they can handle more complicated cases.
Given that strokes are the fifth-leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability in the United States, it's important to get the right kind of care at the right time.
In honor of World Stroke Day, Thursday, Oct. 29, the American Stroke Association is debuting a song with a catchy title (but a not-so-catchy tune) to help people remember the signs of stroke. "F.A.S.T" refers to symptoms related to the face, the arm, and the ability to speak. (The 'T' stands for "time to call 9-1-1.)
new Jersey has 27 hospitals are certified as Primary Stroke Centers, able to handle a wide variety of challenges presented by these patients.
In even better news, the state has seen steady growth in the number of hospitals that have achieved the higher designation of Comprehensive Stroke Center - with three added in just this past year for a total of five.
The designation, which has been in existence only since 2012, means a facility is able to provide neuro-critical care 24 hours a day in a dedicated unit, has the capability to do advanced imaging, can treat endovascular coiling or surgical clipping for aneurysms, and participates in stroke research.
The five hospitals with the designation are:
- Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton (2013)
- JFK Medical Center, Edison (2014)
- Overlook Medical Center, Summit (2015)
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick (2015)
- University Hospital, Newark (2015)
Charles Prestigiamico, director of cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery at University Hospital, said that 30,000 times a year nationdwide, someone sustains a cerebral hemorrhage, and when they do, 50 percent of them die. "So it's basically a coin flip as to whether you're going to live or die," he said."
Those who live next face a second coin flip as to whether they'll emerge from the incident as they were before, or whether they will have sustained some kind of brain damage as a result. "That means three out of four people who suffer a subarachnoid hemorrhage will either be dead or disabled," he said.
One fairly new technique to prevent a stroke is to insert a stent inside the blood vessel to keep an aneurysm from rupturing. While such surgery can be done conventionally, through an incision in the skull, it can also be done by threading the stent through the groin, making it less invasive.
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"This disease this you early, and it hits you hard," Prestigiamico said. "So the question becomes, if we identify an aneurysm, what should we do? It sounds as if we should treat it, because the results can be so devastating."
And if the Latin version of the F.A.S.T song isn't memorable enough, it also comes in Hip Hop, Pop, and R&B versions.
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.