Key points from today’s guests:
Jermaine Butts, stroke survivor
- Having dinner with his wife, his face began to twitch and his wife immediately recognized the symptoms of a stroke and called 911.
- Her quick action may have saved his life.
- It is important to use BE FAST to help identify strokes:
- Balance changes
- Eyesight problems
- Face drooping/numbness
- Arm weakness
- Speech difficulty
- Time – call 911
- As a roofer, he is back to working, but does more work in the office for now until his right side strengthens.
Dr. Michael Abraham, endovascular surgeon, The University of Kansas Health System; director, stroke research, The University of Kansas Medical Center
- Jermaine had a carotid artery stroke. One side of the brain had no blood flow.
- We activated the team – the tech, the nurse, anesthesia – as we waited for him to arrive.
- As soon as he got to the angiography suite, we put him under general anesthesia and we did an endovascular thrombectomy or clot retrieval.
- That involves taking a long catheter through his arteries and up in his brain and pulling out the clot.
- We will implant a stent to help keep blood flow from being restricted.
- Nationally, we need more outreach on stroke education, especially for the Black population because they are disproportionately affected.
Dr. Prasanna Eswaradass, neurologist, The University of Kansas Health System
- We really wanted to identify what caused his stroke.
- He had a carotid web, which is just a small protrusion inside the carotid artery.
- Unfortunately, this condition could not really have been detected earlier because scanning the carotid arteries is not routine.
- One of the best things is just having a good primary care doctor and conducting routine preventative health maintenance screenings.
- “Time is brain.” For every one minute without blood supply, you lose about two million neurons.
- The reason this is a success story is thanks to his wife, who got him to the right place at the right time.
Monday, May 6 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. One nurse had a simple idea to improve patient safety and save time. Now this idea may be used in hospitals everywhere.
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