Health Essentials - Winter 2012 - Hillcrest - (Page 6)

Gift of life A family visit proves to be a lifesaver for stroke victim In a best-case scenario, if an ischemic stroke (the most common kind) is caught early enough, it can be treated with a special drug that unclogs arteries and restores the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain. If it’s not caught early enough, a patient’s only hope is to find a neurointerventionalist ready and waiting at a hospital doorway. And what are the chances of that? At Hillcrest Hospital, the chances are excellent. Just ask Al Salzano. He experienced an ischemic stroke and had run out of time to receive the clot-busting drug. As luck would have it, he was visiting family members who live near Hillcrest, where a highly specialized stroke team can be assembled at a moment’s notice. “There’s no doubt they saved my life,” says Salzano, an 83-year-old retired school administrator. Salzano’s case is a good illustration of this. One evening, a piece of plaque broke off and blocked one of his arteries. “I fell hard and called my wife, Cathy,” he says. “She immediately called 9-1-1.” Within minutes, an emergency medical services squad arrived and transported Salzano to Hillcrest Hospital’s Level II trauma center. En route, the squad notified the hospital staff that it was bringing in a possible stroke patient. The staff wasted no time assembling their stroke team, which was ready and waiting for the patient. When Salzano arrived at Hillcrest, he immediately underwent testing that verified he had a stroke. Since further evaluation showed that the symptoms had begun more than three hours before his arrival, he was not a candidate for clot-busting medication. Fortunately, however, Hillcrest has a neurointerventionalist standing by at all times. On this particular day, that surgeon was Gabor Toth, MD. The staff rushed Salzano to the operating room, where Dr. Toth performed a cerebral angioplasty to locate the clot. To do this, he inserted a thin tube called a catheter through his groin and WintER 2012 Ready and Waiting As a certified Primary Stroke Center, Hillcrest offers the most advanced stroke interventions and treatments available. Rather surprisingly, all this begins before patients even reach the emergency department. 6 HEAltH ESSEntiAlS Salzano images by Joe Glick

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Health Essentials - Winter 2012 - Hillcrest

Health Essentials - Winter 2012 - Hillcrest
Contents
A message from the president
Neurological services expand at Hillcrest
Doing it her way
Visitor is grateful for top stroke care

Health Essentials - Winter 2012 - Hillcrest