FASTER STROKE TREATMENT
IMPROVES RESULTS AND
BRAIN
RECOVERY
Matt Bellifemine was in his basement when he heard
a loud noise upstairs When he arrived upstairs,
he found his wife, Kathryn, on the floor.
“ i
thought she just slipped on the rug, but then I noticed she
wasn’t speaking properly and her face looked deformed,”
he says. Kathryn says she has no memory of falling. “I was
standing in my dining room on this little rug. Some invisible
monster ripped that rug out from under my feet, because one
second I was standing and the next I was on the floor.”
When someone suffers a stroke, time is of the essence. In a
matter of minutes, a person can sustain irreversible brain damage.
Ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes
of long-term disability, according to the
American Stroke Association (ASA).
Atlantic Health System ensures timely
treatment for stroke patients with cutting-
edge in-transit telestroke (ITTS). Once
Atlantic Health System paramedics load a
stroke patient into an ambulance, medical
Kathryn
personnel use an InTouch XpressTM device
for video communication with a stroke neurologist.
Center and Atlantic Health System found that the lifesaving tissue
plasminogen activator (tPA) could be administered 13 minutes
sooner if the patient was evaluated with ITTS.
“The more time that passes, the likelier a patient will sustain
brain damage,” says Gary Belt, MD, FAAN, vascular neurologist
with Atlantic Neuroscience Institute. “Our in-transit telestroke
capabilities minimize these complications.”
Kathryn received the tPA at Chilton Medical Center and after
being airlifted to Overlook Medical Center,
went on to have two procedures, angioplas-
ty and stenting of the narrowed area in her
carotid artery in her neck. This was then
followed by a clot-removing procedure
using the latest technology called a stent
retriever, which restored blood flow in her
brain within the critical time that it is
Bellifemine
needed. Kathryn is doing well today.
“I would not have had the outcome I did without this service.
It was exactly four hours from the time I was on the floor until
Dr. Ron Benitez [director of endovascular neurosurgery for
Atlantic Health System] operated on me that night. How lucky
am I to have been there and get, at midnight, one of the best
surgeons in this field.”
Another key to faster treatment: correctly identifying stroke
symptoms. The ASA, along with the American Heart Association,
suggest the F.A.S.T. approach. If individuals notice three symp-
toms – face drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulty – it’s
time to reach for the nearest phone.
“If you think you or someone you know is having a stroke, it’s
a medical emergency,” says Dr. Belt. “Call 911 immediately.” ❖
For more information about telestroke services, visit
atlantichealth.org/stroketreatment.
“I would not have
had the outcome I did
without this service.
LifeSaving innovation
The portable device is loaded with a high-definition camera,
microphone and screen, all of which help the specialist perform
a neurological evaluation while the patient is en route to the
emergency department. Upon arrival, the neurologist assumes
care in real time and can administer alteplase, a protein that can
dissolve blood clots and restore flow to the brain.
“They got Kathryn into the ambulance and we went about a
mile and a half and they pulled into a school parking lot,” says
Matt. “They had the neurologist on the screen, and when we got
to the hospital she immediately went back to the CT scan where
they verified she had a stroke.”
Last year, a stroke study by researchers at Overlook Medical
Chilton Magazine SUMMER 2017