A stroke occurs when blood stops flowing to a part of the brain due to a narrowing or blockage of blood vessels. When this happens, the damage which occurs is called a cerebral vascular accident, or a stroke.

Rice chose to develop and implement a stroke pathway in February of 2003 because of the high number of stroke patients we treat. Stroke is the #3 killer and leading cause of severe, long-term disability in our nation.

The following goals are important because research has shown improved health outcomes when these goals are met:

• aspirin is given promptly on admission, or thrombolytic agent is given within three (3) hours of the stroke
• no oral intake is given until a swallow evaluation is completed
• patients who are on bedrest receive preventative therapy for deep vein thrombosis
• patients who are in atrial fibrillation, are discharged on Coumadin

After the clinical pathway for the treatment of stroke was implemented in February of 2003, the following outcomes were reported in June of 2003:

• 100% of the stroke pathway patients have been given aspirin upon admission or received a thrombolytic agent within three hours of the stroke.
• 75% of the stroke pathway patients have had oral intake held until a swallow evaluation was completed.
• 100% of the patients on bedrest received preventative therapy for deep vein thrombosis.
• 100% of the stroke pathway patients discharged in atrial fibrillation went home on Coumadin.

Note: any given patient may have a reason or reasons why they should not receive these recommended treatments (for example: allergies, possible negative drug interactions, etc.) This decision is based on the judgement of the patient's physician.

For more information on stroke: www.strokeassocation.org