Advance notice to ERs helps treat stroke

• Tweet

LOS ANGELES, July 10 (UPI) -- Treatment is faster when paramedics tell hospitals a possible stroke patient is en route, but this doesn't occur one-third of the time, U.S. researchers say.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association both recommend emergency medical services notify hospitals of incoming stroke patients because quick response is vital for stroke patients, particularly those with ischemic stroke, when a clot cuts off the blood supply to a portion of the brain.

Clot-busting drugs can only be given within a limited time -- 3 to 4 1/2 hours after the onset of symptoms -- researchers said.

The researchers examined the records of 371,988 acute ischemic stroke patients transported by EMS to one of 1,585 hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines -- Stroke quality improvement program from 2003 to 2011.

Pre-notification occurred in 67 percent of patients in 2011, a modest increase from the 58 percent in 2003, the study said.

Pre-notification was independently associated with better treatment times for faster imaging, treatment of clot-busting drug tPA within 60 minutes on arrival and more eligible patients treated with tPA.

"Despite national guidelines recommending pre-notification by EMS for acute stroke patients, it's disappointing that there's been little improvement," senior author Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles, said in a statement. "However, with these powerful new findings demonstrating substantial benefits with pre-notification, we have a tremendous opportunity to make positive changes in this component of stroke care."

The findings were published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes and Journal of the American Heart Association.