Statewide Coordinated Stroke Prevention, Care System Promised

HARTFORD — The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) announced the “Connecticut Comprehensive Plan for Stroke Prevention and Care 2009–2013,” a statewide plan to create a coordinated system of stroke care and prevention.

“The key goal of this plan is to make it possible for every Connecticut patient to get appropriate and timely care, either at their local hospital or elsewhere in the health care system,” stated DPH Commissioner Dr J. Robert Galvin. “Stroke is the most common neurological emergency,” he added. “It is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of disability.”

A stroke occurs when there is an interruption in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain, resulting in a rapid loss of brain function. For each minute that passes, an estimated two million brain cells die, and every second diminishes the stroke sufferer’s chance to return to normal function.

Risk factors for stroke include advanced age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and prior history of stroke, diabetes, and smoking.

The overall goal of the plan is to create a coordinated system of stroke care in which it is possible for every Connecticut resident experiencing a stroke to have access appropriate and timely care.

A coordinated care system involves emergency medical services, hospital stroke teams with specific training in stroke care, specialized hospital stroke units, and standardized care protocols for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke.

To create the statewide stroke plan, DPH assembled a diverse panel of experts, including health care providers, community health centers, hospitals, hospital and health associations, health advocacy groups, home health care agencies, public health representatives, health care professionals, nonprofit organizations, insurance groups, state representatives, and community and special interest groups.

To learn more about the “Connecticut Comprehensive Plan for Stroke Prevention and Care 2009–2013” and heart disease and stroke prevention, visit the DPH website at www.ct.gov/dph and click “Programs and Services,” then “Stroke Prevention.”