Stroke Treatment
Stroke Treatment
Our multidisciplinary team of physicians and specialists includes emergency medicine physicians, neurologists, interventional neurologists, neurosurgeons, and nurses with stroke training. Upon arrival, the team quickly treats every patient with a comprehensive evaluation and collaborative management.
Stroke Treatment
651 East 25th Street
Hialeah, Florida 33013
305-693-6100
What is a Stroke?
A stroke is an emergency requiring immediate medical attention. Strokes happen when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, causing brain cells to begin dying from lack of oxygenated blood.
There are three kinds of stroke:
- Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) – Often called a mini stroke, it’s often a warning stroke. A blood vessel that is blocked for a short period of time.
- Ischemic Stroke – The most common, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel or artery in the brain. This clos causes a region of the brain to be deprived of oxygen and essential nutrients, leading to death of brain cells.
- Hemorrhagic Stroke – This type of stroke is caused by a blood vessel breaking and bleeding into the brain. Two types of weakened blood vessels that typically cause hemorrhagic stroke are aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).
- Brain Aneurysms – A brain aneurysm occurs when a blood vessel develops a weak area in the wall that allows the vessel to balloon out and fill with blood.
- Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) – AVMs happen when a group of blood vessels in your body forms incorrectly. In these malformations, arteries and veins are unusually tangles.
Stroke Signs and Symptoms
- A sudden, severe headache
- Seizures
- Loss of sensation in part of the body
- Muscle Weakness
- Changes in vision
- Facial paralysis
- Drooping eyelids
- Problems with motion
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Loss of consciousness
If you experience any of the stroke signs, or identify the signs in someone else, act B.E.F.A.S.T. and dial 911. Use the National Stroke Association’s B.E.F.A.S.T. test to help you remember the warning signs and symptoms of stroke:
- Balance – Watch for sudden loss of balance, headache or dizziness
- Eyes – Blurred vision. Sudden trouble seeing out of one or both eyes
- Face – Facial weakness – Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
- Arms – Arm weakness – Ask the person to rise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
- Speech – Speech problems – Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can the patient repeat the sentence correctly?
- Time – If a person is having trouble with these basic commands, call 911 immediately.
Use B.E.F.A.S.T. to help you remember the signs.
Treating Stroke
Time is brain! At Hialeah Hospital, we treat strokes as a medical emergency. Once a “code stroke” is called, our stroke team is activated and ready to provide our patients with rapid treatment. Most strokes are caused by blood clots blocking a blood vessel or artery in the brain (ischemia stroke). This type of stroke may be treated with a clot busting drug called IV thrombolytic. The drug has been found to be most effective when administered within three to four and half hours of last time of feeling normal. Time is extremely important when stopping a stroke in progress and minimizing the potential damage.