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Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Earlier Treatment of Seniors After Stroke Reduces Risk of Death, Increases Chance to Go Home
For every 15 minutes gained, death and hemorrhage was less likely; going home in better shape more likely for these seniors with average age of 72
July 18, 2013 With all the promotion by the American Heart Association and others about the critical need for quick treatment after a stroke, it is not surprising that a large new study of senior citizens hit with acute ischemic stroke finds that thrombolytic treatment (to help dissolve a blood clot) that was started more rapidly after symptom onset was associated with reduced in-hospital deaths and intracranial hemorrhage and higher rates of independent walking ability at discharge and discharge to home.
The study, which included nearly 60,000 patients with acute ischemic stroke, appears in the June 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The researchers found that for every 15-minute-faster interval of tPA therapy - mortality was less likely to occur, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was less likely to occur, independence in ambulation at discharge was more likely to occur, and discharge to home was more likely to occur.
For patients treated in the first 90 minutes, compared with 181-270 minutes after onset - mortality was 26 percent less likely to occur, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 28 percent less likely to occur, independence in ambulation at discharge was 51 percent more likely to occur, and discharge to home was 33 percent more likely to occur.
These findings support intensive efforts to accelerate patient presentation and to streamline regional and hospital systems of acute stroke care to compress OTT times, the authors conclude.
Jeffrey L. Saver, M.D., of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the association between time to treatment with intravenous thrombolysis and outcomes among patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Continued here:
Earlier Treatment of Seniors After Stroke Reduces Risk of Death, Increases Chance to Go Home