Earlier Treatment Improves Stroke Recovery
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Every 15 minutes sooner that a patient receives stroke treatment, there is a 4 percent reduction of stroke symptoms and deaths. Additionally, there is a 3 percent improved chance of returning home and 4 percent increase in the likelihood of going walking home from the hospital (instead of using a wheelchair).
Neurologists have known that treatment within 4.5 hours of the onset of stroke symptoms improves outcomes, but this study is the first to quantify how much improvement you get.
Researchers at UCLA reviewed records of 58,353 stroke patients from a national registry involving 1,395 hospitals to come up with these findings.
