With this kind of documentation I would think that stroke medical staff/researchers would realize that there is a missing hole in treatment. So 14% of strokees can't really get any kind of treatment. Some of the possible research options I blogged about earlier are:
liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin,bat saliva up to 9 hours, cardiac glycosides up to 6 hours, nitric oxide 48 hours thru 7 days,xenon gas, caffeinol, Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a component of fish oil up to 5 hours, nicotine, ablation up to 24 hours, viagra from 2-24 hours for 7 days.
http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/estimated-58000-wake-stroke-each-year-goes-untreated
Stroke that happens during sleep sends 58,000 to the emergency room annually, according to research estimates, but most patients don’t receive treatment because no one knows when the stroke happened.
Researchers are addressing the 14 percent of people in the US who experience “ wake up stroke” to see what type of intervention would be most beneficial.
In a new study, investigators found many patients would be eligible to receive drugs to break up clots and restore blood flow to the brain if the time of symptom onset had been known.
Clot busting drugs, known as tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) are approved for use in the first 3 hours of stroke symptoms, leaving out one in 7 patients who have stroke during sleep but might be eligible for treatment with the drugs.
According to study author Jason Mackey, MD, of the University of Cincinnati and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, “Imaging studies are being conducted now to help us develop better methods to identify which people are most likely to benefit from the treatment, even if symptoms started during the night.”
Researchers studied patients with stroke in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region over one year period and found most causes are from blocked arteries, known as ischemic stroke that they say should be a focus for future studies.
Of the 1,854 ischemic strokes in the study, 273, or 24 percent were “wake up” strokes”. The scientists found no difference in risk factors whether stroke happens during sleep or while awake.
Typical risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes.
Minor differences were found in age - stroke during sleep occurred more often around age 72 versus age 70 and tended to be slightly more severe.
Ninety eight of the 273 patients would have been eligible for clot busting drugs but the time of stroke was unknown. Mackey said. “It’s likely that some of these strokes occurred immediately prior to awakening, and people would benefit from treatment.”
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/2044724/1_in_7_strokes_occurs_during_sleep_many_go_without/index.html?source=r_health
Approximately 14 percent of all strokes occur during sleep, preventing many from getting clot-busting treatment, according to a study published in the May 10, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"Because the only treatment for ischemic stroke must be given within a few hours after the first symptoms begin, people who wake up with stroke symptoms often can't receive the treatment since we can't determine when the symptoms started," said study author Jason Mackey, MD, of the University of Cincinnati and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Imaging studies are being conducted now to help us develop better methods to identify which people are most likely to benefit from the treatment, even if symptoms started during the night."
The study examined all cases of ischemic stroke in people age 18 and older seen in hospital emergency departments in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region over one year. The majority of strokes are ischemic strokes caused by blocked blood flow in the brain.
Of the 1,854 ischemic strokes in the study, 273, or 14 percent, were "wake-up strokes," where the person woke up with stroke symptoms. By extrapolating that number to the general U.S. population, the researchers estimate that approximately 58,000 people in the United States go to the emergency department with a wake-up stroke in a year.
The researchers compared those with wake-up strokes to those who were awake when their stroke symptoms started. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of sex, whether they were married or were living with someone, and their stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking or high cholesterol.
There were minor statistically significant differences in age and the severity of the stroke. People with wake-up strokes were an average of 72 years old, compared to 70 for non-wake-up strokes. Those with wake-up strokes had an average score of four on a test of stroke severity, compared to a three for those with non-wake-up strokes. Scores ranging from one to four indicate mild strokes.
The researchers also analyzed whether those with wake-up strokes would have been eligible for the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, if the time of stroke onset had been available. Of the 273 wake-up strokes, at least 98 would have been eligible for treatment.
"This is a group of patients that should be a focus for future studies," Mackey said. "It's likely that some of these strokes occurred immediately prior to awakening, and people would benefit from treatment."
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of 24,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care.
A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
If I had stroked 15 minutes earlier while sleeping, I would not have received tPA and thus would have died and I wouldn't be here to question how poor acute stroke rehab options are.
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