MONAHRQ Demo - Stroke

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Stroke. A stroke is a medical emergency. Strokes happen when blood flow to your brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke: those caused by a blocked blood vessel in the brain, and those caused by bleeding in the brain. Someone having a stroke may suddenly feel: *Numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body) *Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech *Trouble seeing in one or both eyes *Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination *Severe headache with no known cause If you have any of these symptoms, you must get to a hospital quickly to begin treatment. If you have a stroke caused by a blood clot, you may be given a clot-dissolving, or clot-busting, medication. A doctor will inject the medication into a vein in your arm. This type of medication must be given within 4 hours of first symptoms.1 If you have a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain, the first step is to find the cause of the bleeding and to stop it, which might require surgery. If high blood pressure is the cause of the bleeding, your doctor may prescribe medicines to lower your blood pressure. This can help prevent further bleeding.1 Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 130,000 Americans each year--that's 1 of every 20 deaths.2 (1 How Is a Stroke Treated? - NHLBI, NIH. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/stroke/treatment. 2 Stroke Fact Sheet|Data & Statistics|DHDSP|CDC) Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Comparing hospitals can help you spot potentially problematic safety concerns for hospitals you're considering.

Tips / Checklist: Because stroke injures the brain, you may not realize that you are having a stroke. To a bystander, someone having a stroke may just look unaware or confused. Stroke victims have the best chance if someone around them recognizes the symptoms and acts quickly. The key symptoms of stroke are FAST: *Face (weakness or drooping in the face). *Arm (weakness or numbness in one or both arms). *Speech (slurring or difficulty speaking). *Time (every minute counts). Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Comparing hospitals can help you make better health care decisions for you and your loved ones.

How do hospitals in In My State perform on Stroke? How often patients who came in after having stroke subsequently died in the hospital: 0.0%.

WHY SHOULD YOU COMPARE? All hospitals are not the same. Some are better overall, some are not so good. Some do well in some areas of care but not in others. Comparing hospitals helps: Spot potentially problematic safety concerns for hospitals you're considering. Make better health care decisions for you and your loved ones. Show you how hospitals you're considering perform in critical safety areas. Talking with your doctor shows you want to be a partner in your care. It also helps remind your care team to take certain actions to keep you as safe as possible. Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Find hospitals that perform best in the areas you care about.

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