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When experiencing a stroke, every minute counts — you have no time to lose. No matter where you are in the Louisville metro area when symptoms first occur, Norton Healthcare stroke care is close at hand.
At five area adult-service hospitals, Norton Healthcare specialists are readily available to quickly assess and evaluate your condition. Our emergency stroke team, which forms the first line of defense against brain attack, is a highly specialized, multidisciplinary team all working around-the-clock to combat stroke emergencies.
A Stroke of Grace, a nonprofit organization, offers virtual support groups twice a month along with education and awareness for stroke prevention.
The emergency stroke team includes:
Upon a patient’s arrival at one of our stroke centers —or even beforehand — the emergency stroke team springs into action. Through teamwork, advanced diagnostic procedures and innovative therapies such as clot-dissolving tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), the team begins aggressive treatment for the stroke patient within minutes of arrival.
The first step is a comprehensive evaluation and CT scan to determine the type of stroke and the patient’s best course of action. Not all strokes are treated the same, so determining the specific cause allows the stroke team to optimize treatment and help prevent complications. The team uses state-of-the-art diagnostics, many of which were not available a few years ago, including new, more sophisticated CT scans that view the stroke within the brain; MRIs that show which parts of the brain are permanently damaged and which can be repaired; and blood flow tests to show how much blood is getting to the brain.
New drugs, advanced surgical techniques and interventional neuroradiology procedures are among the effective new medical options available for stroke patients. These therapies have the potential to reverse the effects of stroke, significantly reduce permanent disability from stroke and lead to an optimal recovery; however, they must be administered within the first few hours after the onset of stroke symptoms.
That’s why brain attack patients can trust the fast action and unique team approach to treatment provided by Norton Healthcare’s emergency stroke team.