Stroke is a deadly disease — no matter how you measure it. It’s the state’s fourth-leading cause of death and the highest cause of adult disability. More than 20,000 people in Georgia will have a stroke this year.
If you’re like me, statistics are hard to grasp, but something Dr. Michael Frankel said to me made it much more real.
“Everyone is on the mission to fight stroke, because almost everyone knows someone affected by this disease,” said Frankel, an Emory University professor of neurology and director of the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center at Grady Health System. He’s also lead neurologist for the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry.
Two family members came instantly to mind. My 104-year-old great-aunt Ethel has been in a nursing home for five years because of a stroke. She can’t walk and her speech is often garbled.
Before the stroke, she’d had a full career as a mill worker, then another career keeping children in her home. She planted a garden every year and drove herself to church. She wasn’t one to sit still for long. While she still enjoys watching the Braves and hearing the latest family gossip, she’d much rather live at home.
My aunt Pearl was sorting mail and talking to her husband one night, when suddenly she couldn’t move her limbs or talk. Rushed to a small hospital outside Macon, she was treated in the emergency room and diagnosed via teleconference by a neurologist at a much larger hospital.
The news was better than expected. It was a TIA, a precursor to stroke. She received appropriate treatment, her symptoms cleared up and she went home in three days. It was a scare and a warning.
As Frankel said, you don’t have to see many cases of strokes to know how devastating they can be.
The good news is that Georgia has been fighting back aggressively. We’re only one of two states that has had a statewide registry (the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry) for 10 years to monitor and improve care. In 2001, stroke specialists from hospitals across the state came together and began sharing best practices and methods for treatment. In a collaborative effort, they built on one another’s knowledge.
More research has shed light on the high risk factors — such as hypertension and diabetes — and innovative treatments have been discovered. More hospitals each year join the registry and many now follow national guidelines to give the highest standard of care.
Through community education, we all know more about stroke, its symptoms and how to prevent it.
“We’re teaching school children to see if adults [who are] not functioning normally can smile, hold their arms out and speak properly. If not, they know that time is important,” said Debbie Camp, evidence-based stroke manager at Atlanta Medical Center. “We’re hearing about more kids who are calling 911 for an elderly family member.”
Despite all the progress, there’s still a long way to go. Georgia is in the “Stroke Belt,” which has high stroke incidence and death rates. But isn’t it nice to hear to some good news?
