Indiana Regional Medical Center has announced new advancements in stroke care that will expand treatment to patients in rural areas.
IRMC has implemented protocols that extend the treatment window for select stroke patients and allow for treatment of incidents where patients wake up with stroke symptoms and the exact time of onset is not known, or “wake-up” strokes. These protocols are in alignment with updated guidelines from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.
Originally, certain medications were only offered to patients within a small window when the stroke began. The new procedure will allow eligible patients to get treatment past the old time limits.
In an interview on Indiana in the Morning on WCCS, IRMC Neurologist Dr. Michael Sauter said that despite these advancements, time is still a critical factor in a stroke, and you should never wait for symptoms to stop.
IRMC says that adopting these updated guidelines reinforces their commitment to delivering high quality stroke care and ensures that rural patients have access to the most current treatments.
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