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Stroke
Overview
A stroke -- or "brain attack" -- occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel or artery, or when a
blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. When a stroke occurs, it kills
brain cells in the immediate area. Doctors call this area of dead cells an infarct. These cells usually
die within minutes to a few hours after the stroke starts. Stroke is a well-known cause of
non-traumatic acquired brain damage.
Stroke statistics:
- A stroke occurs every 53 seconds in the U.S
- Nearly 600,000 Americans will suffer a stroke this year. Of these, more than 200,000 will result in death
- Stroke is the nation's No. 3 killer and is a leading cause of severe, long-term disability
Types of Strokes:
Ischemic Stroke
Results from an obstruction, typically a blood clot. These clots are called a cerebral thrombus or
cerebral embolism (a blood clot that forms at another location in the circulatory system, usually
the heart and large arteries of the upper chest and neck, and travels into the brain). Ischemic
Stroke accounts for about 80 percent of all cases in the U.S.
Hemorrhagic stroke
Often results from a ruptured "brain aneurysm", which is a brain artery that has "ballooned" out.
Other causes are a brain vascular malformation, high blood pressure which ruptures a tiny artery,
drugs which cause acute blood pressure changes, and direct brain injury. Hemorrhagic stroke
accounts for about 20 percent of stroke cases in the U.S., but often has severe consequences
due to bleeding into the brain.
Learn To Recognize A Stroke
From the American Stroke Association:
"Stroke is a medical emergency. Know these warning signs of stroke and teach them to others. Every second counts:
- 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, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
Call 9-1-1 immediately if you experience symptoms! Time lost is brain lost!"
Resources for Stroke victims and families
You can access several videos about stroke survivors, stroke treatments, and talking to your primary doctor after you've had a stroke.
Healthology
This link provides several email forums where you can contact other stroke survivors to discuss coping with stroke and the latest developments in stroke treatment.
http://www.strokesafe.org/e-mail_lists.html
This message board puts you in touch with stroke survivors and professionals and allows you to post questions and read discussions on all stroke-related topics.
http://strokesafe.org/cgi-strokesafe/psf.cgi
Learn about stroke in depth with the Heart Center's extensive online encyclopedia for patients and their families.
Heart Center Online
Learn about TIAs, the small, stroke-like attacks that can occur soon before a major stroke at The Heart Center's online encyclopedia.
Heart Center Online
Learn about stroke issues for African-Americans at The Heart Center's extensive online encyclopedia.
Heart Center Online
Learn about stroke issues for women at The Heart Center's extensive online encyclopedia.
Heart Center Online
Learn about stroke issues in children with stroke at The Heart Center's extensive online encyclopedia.
Heart Center Online
Join an online stroke support group organized by the Stroke Center, a nonprofit organization that serves stroke survivors and theircaregivers.
http://www.strokenetwork.org
Stroke: Standards of Medical Care
What are "standards of care"? These are the minimum requirements for competent treatment of a medical disease or
condition. A number of organizations have published guidelines that together make up the standards of care for
preventing and treating stroke in the United States.
If a doctor has violated these standards of care, he or she can be legally liable for the damage caused by the
substandard medical care.
Some doctors are much better about following up-to-date treatment guidelines and standards than others. In
patients with a high stroke risk, it can be important to see a physician who specializes in neurology or a related
field. General physicians can and do give excellent stroke prevention care, but some do not have the training,
knowledge or interest to provide the high-quality care that patients at high risk of stroke need and deserve.
Below are some standards of care for medical professionals treating patients with stroke or high risk of stroke.
Standards of care for nurses treating stroke patients can be found at the
American Association of Neuroscience Nurses Clinical Guidelines Series.
Standards of care for the early management of patients who have just had a stroke include:
Standards of care for children who suffer from a stroke can be found at the
Child Neurology Statement: Recognition and Treatment of Stroke in Children.
Kaiser Permanente health organization guidelines for the prevention and treatment of stroke can be found at the
Kaiser Permanente Clinical Practice Guidelines.
The National Stroke Association's guidelines for the prevention and treatment of stroke include:
Legal options
Good medical care can often minimize or prevent a significant brain injury from one of these medical
conditions. Or there can be other ways in which the brain injury could have been prevented. So a
lawsuit can be appropriate in some circumstances, depending on what an investigation by a qualified
lawyer finds.
Learn more about your legal options >>
Legal Consultation
The lawyers at Stein, Mitchell & Mezines provide free and confidential consultations to help sort out your legal options. Contact us with this form to provide basic information to get the process started:
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Stein, Mitchell & Mezines LLP :: 1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036
phone: 202.737.7777 fax: 202.296.8312
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