Thanks to Los Angeles County's new Emergency Stroke System, individuals who experience a stroke may now be able to more quickly access some of the latest advances in stroke interventions. The Emergency Medical Services Agency announced that ambulances will transport suspected stroke patients directly to Approved Stroke Centers in Los Angeles County. These are facilities that are specially stroke-prepared - medically and surgically - and have the mechanisms in place to quickly provide the right treatment.
Leaders of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Stroke Program - one of the approved centers - say the decision by the Emergency Medical Services Agency is the culmination of ongoing efforts by a group of area stroke experts, and it will undoubtedly have an immediate, positive impact on many lives throughout the county.
"Time is brain. We know that the sooner a patient suffering a stroke receives effective treatment, the higher the chance of having a good outcome," said Patrick D. Lyden, M.D., chairman of Cedars-Sinai's Department of Neurology. "Designated stroke centers are committed to being ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The county is now saying that patients will be directed to those hospitals that are committed to being ready."
Lyden, a nationally recognized authority on strokes and stroke intervention, was among those who lobbied for years for a similar emergency stroke system - yet to be implemented - in San Diego County. Joining Cedars-Sinai July 1, Lyden previously served the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego, as professor and vice chairman for Clinical Neurology, and served the UCSD Medical Center as clinical chief of Neurology and director of the Stroke Center.
In the past, patients who appeared to be suffering acute strokes would be taken to the closest hospital, which may or may not be staffed and equipped to provide immediate attention. As noted by the American Stroke Association in its support of Los Angeles County's new system, studies have shown that outcomes improve significantly when patients activate the Emergency Medical Services system early by calling 9-1-1. "However, while time to treatment is a critical factor, the type of treatment received for stroke is also a crucial element of treatment - which is why it is important to get patients to the nearest Joint Commission-certified Primary Stroke Center."
"Ambulance-directed care for patients suffering strokes is an initiative that has been gaining support locally and in other regions. Leaders of several area stroke programs have been working together with the American Stroke Association and Los Angeles County to try to increase awareness of stroke signs and symptoms and to implement a strategy to get patients to those hospitals that have the mechanisms in place to provide the right treatment," said David Palestrant, M.D., director of the Stroke Program and Neuro-Critical Care at Cedars-Sinai.