KYW Newsradio’s Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
Think about this: Every 15 minutes earlier that a patient receives stroke treatment, there is a four percent reduction of stroke symptoms and deaths.
Additionally, there is a three percent improved chance of returning home and a four percent increase in the likelihood of going walking home from the hospital instead of using a wheelchair.
Neurologists have known for quite some time that treatment within 4 1/2 hours of the onset of stroke symptoms improves outcomes. The data is supported by work from researchers at UCLA who reviewed records of over 58,000 stroke patients from a national registry involving more than a thousand hospitals.