Key points from today’s guests:

Doug Lewis, stroke survivor

• It was an early morning in December of 2022. Doug was downstairs playing with his five-month-old son while the rest of the family was upstairs still asleep when suddenly he found himself on the floor, confused, terrified and unable to move.
• His three-year-old daughter woke up and found her dad laying there and ran to get her mom, who immediately recognized the signs of a stroke.
• A clot from a prior heart attack had lodged in his brain, causing a serious stroke.
• He had a life-saving procedure within hours that saved him. The quick actions by his daughter, wife, and medical team were critical.
• Having a stroke at 45 caused him to stop smoking and improve his diet to help with his overall health.
• He has recovered now and wants to share his story with others to help them.

Dr. Michael Abraham, critical care neurologist, The University of Kansas Health System

• He had what we call an ischemic stroke -- a blockage in an artery going into the brain. And when that happens, it cuts off oxygen and nutrients go into that specific area of the brain.
• To fix this, we perform something called an endovascular thrombectomy, which means we vacuum the clot out of his brain.
• We start the catheter at the top of the leg and carefully run it up to the brain through the artery and carefully use a suction device to remove it.
• We’ve been using this procedure for about 15 years, but we’ve recently seen the most advancements for this.
• Time is brain. Every minute of no blood flow risks damage -- about 2 million neurons dying. That may not sound like a lot when we talk about the billions of neurons in the brain, but every portion of the brain is critical to our normal function. So, every minute literally counts.
• Use BE FAST to help identify strokes:
  • Balance changes
  • Eyesight problems
  • Face drooping/numbness
  • Arm weakness
  • Speech difficulty
  • Time – call 911