Stroke Quality Measures
According to the latest statistics from the American
Stroke Association:
- Each
year about 700,000 people have a new or recurrent stroke.
- Stroke killed approximately
158,000 people in 2005.
- Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the
US.
- Millions of brain cells die each minute stroke is untreated.
Symptoms of a stroke include the following:
- sudden numbness or weakness of
the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body;
- sudden confusion,
trouble speaking or understanding;
- sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes;
- sudden trouble walking, dizziness
or loss of balance or coordination;
- sudden severe headache with no known
cause.
"Only about one-third of patients who are having a stroke are aware of
its symptoms, and most bystanders are not knowledgeable about the signs of stroke"
(New
England Journal of Medicine, September 7, 2000: 343(10); 710-722).
A
person experiencing a stroke may be unaware of the stroke symptoms or unable
to communicate and it is often bystanders who initiate communication for
stroke care (Archives
of Internal Medicine, October 13, 2003: 163(18); 2198-2202).
Studies have shown an increase in public awareness of stroke symptoms and
the need for emergent stroke treatment, as well as improvement in stroke care
delivery after certain types of community educational interventions (Archives
of Internal Medicine, October 13, 2003: 163(18); 2198-2202); Stroke,
August 2003: 34(8); 1968-1969; Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, October/November/December
2003: 26(4); 316-322).
The pooled results of three major tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) trials
confirmed that early stroke treatment is strongly associated with favorable
stroke outcomes (NOTE: tPA is "clot-buster" medication used to treat
ischemic stroke in certain situations.) (The Lancet, March 6, 2004: 363(9411);
768-74).