Stroke Program Receives Award for Third Year Running

For the third year in a row, Loyola Hospital has won a Get with the Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

The award is given to hospitals that achieve 85 percent or higher in adherence to all stroke performance guidelines and 75 percent or higher in compliance with six of 10 stroke quality measures. These measures include aggressive use of clot-busting drugs, blood thinners, cholesterol-reducing drugs and smoking cessation.

"The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients," said Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, chair of the Get with the Guidelines National Steering Committee.

Get with the Guidelines employs the "teachable moment" right after a patient has had a stroke. Studies have found that teaching patients how to manage risk factors while they still are in the hospital reduces the risk of a second heart attack or stroke.

Loyola provides evidence-based specialized stroke care from a multidisciplinary team of stroke experts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Loyola is certified by the Joint Commission as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center.

Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every three minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

The 4.5 hours after a stroke are critical. Loyola's emergency stroke team uses CT scans, MRIs and other tests and procedures to quickly determine the best treatment.

"When a stroke occurs, every second counts," said stroke specialist Dr. José Biller. "Time is brain. The faster we can diagnose and treat patients, the better the outcome." Biller is chairman of the Department of Neurology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.