A disease appears uncurable, so we don't talk about it. It's easier to talk about the little stuff.

A quote from Seth Godin. This is so appallingly true in strokes' case. We never talk about all the problems in stroke. We gladly put out press releases and talk about minor research findings that suggest this intervention or this food might reduce the risk of stroke. Or we promote telemedicine because that allows a few more people to get tPA, even though tPA when looked at objectively is a failure most of the time.

I expect leaders to tackle the toughest problems and we seem to have NO leaders in stroke at all.

The denials all sound the same. They don’t come from stupidity, from people who aren’t smart enough to understand what’s going on. They come from people who won’t look.

As far as I am concerned these people are not leaders:
NSA President - Mr. Lopez
AHA President - Dr. Arnett
WSO President - Dr. Davis   
Someone should be able to prove me wrong with examples of how they are tackling the problems in stroke. Not press releases, actual work to solve these problems by following a strategy. Someday, one of these persons will call me up and invite me to talk to them. 

Ruckusmaker day

Steve Jobs' 60th birthday. So make a ruckus because unless we do, nothing is going to change in the stroke world. There are 10 million survivors a year, We could be deafening enough that even doctors listen to us.
1. Call your stroke hospital president and ask when the hell they will start providing detailed statistics of how good their stroke department is; 30 day deaths, 100% recovery, tPA efficacy, number of updated stroke protocols with efficacy ratings. Who will be fired if those goals are not achieved?
2. Call/email the presidents of the ASA, NSA, WSO.
Do you want to be known as the stroke leaders that did nothing but twiddle your thumbs?
NSA President - Mr. Lopez
AHA President - Dr. Arnett
WSO President - Dr. Davis 
Ask them point blank when they are going to define a strategy with dates to solve the problems in stroke.
And whom is assigned the goal of solving those problems? Specifics only, NO bland appeasement statements allowed.  

Ruckusmaker day by Seth Godin

 

Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer's Disease

At least the Alzheimers Association has some intelligent people that can put together a report like this. We in stroke however have absolutely nothing like this, which seems odd that with three major stroke organizations, ASA, NSA, WSO; not one has anyone intelligent enough to produce such a report. I'm sure we could prove that stroke will affect more people and have a greater financial impact. But we have NO leaders that are even willing to try to tackle all the problems in stroke.

Do you want to be known as the stroke leaders that did nothing but twiddle your thumbs?

NSA President - Mr. Lopez

AHA President - Dr. Arnett

WSO President - Dr. Davis

Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer's Disease

Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer's Disease: How a Treatment by 2025 Saves Lives and Dollars presents information about the current trajectory and economic impact of Alzheimer's disease, and describes an alternate trajectory if, in 2025, a treatment became available to delay the onset of Alzheimer's. > Summary > Quick Facts > Appendices

Summary

Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer's Disease: How a Treatment by 2025 Saves Lives and Dollars calculates that a treatment introduced in 2025 that delays the onset of Alzheimer's by five years would reduce the number of individuals affected by the disease by 5.7 million by mid-century and save all payers, including Medicare, Medicaid and families, more than $220 billion within the first five years.
The report reinforces the value of reaching the 2025 goal set by the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease under the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA). If the federal government were to invest $2 billion per year as recommended by the scientific community, then it would recoup its investment within the first three years after a treatment became available.
A treatment introduced in 2025 that delays the onset of Alzheimer's would cut the number of people in 2050 who have the disease by 42 percent — from 13.5 million to 7.8 million. The Alzheimer's Association's report also shows the positive impact of adequate funding and the potential consequences of under-funding.

• In 2015, the costs to all payers for the care of people living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias will total an estimated $226 billion, with Medicare and Medicaid paying 68 percent of the costs. Without a treatment costs are projected to increase to more than $1.1 trillion in 2050.
• Reaching the 2025 goal would save payers $220 billion over the first five years and $367 billion in 2050 alone. Savings to Medicare and Medicaid would account for nearly 60 percent of the savings.
• People living with Alzheimer's and other dementias and their families would save $54 billion over the first five years in their out-of-pocket costs if the 2025 goal is met.

Musical Training May Bolster Brain Plasticity Across A Lifetime

So if we had a decent stroke association we could ask Dr. Bidelman about musical training  helping survivors recover better or have less damage in the first place. But such a simple research project will not occur under current stroke non-leadership.  Deal with it. All the 10 million stroke survivors each year are depressingly on their own. 
NSA President - Mr. Lopez, tell me exactly where I am wrong.
AHA President - Dr. Arnett, tell me exactly where I am wrong.
WSO President - Dr. Davis, tell me exactly where I am wrong. 
http://medicalresearch.com/author-interviews/muscial-training-may-bolster-brain-plasticity-across-a-lifetime/11254/ 

From Stroke Survivor to President of the American Heart Association

I'll have to contact her to see if she is going to direct the ASA to actually do some strategic planning. You need to contact her also.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health/from-stroke-survivor-to-president-of-aha-6296.aspx
Dr. Donna Arnett was only 27 when she had a stroke that left her temporarily paralyzed and unable to speak. She was at home, and it was early in the morning.