Stroke - a medical emergency

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and number one cause of disabili ty in industrialised countries. A number of new therapeutic approaches are currently in development for use in the acute phase of ischaemic stroke and all trials have, to date, demonstrated the importance of early diagnosis a nd subsequent initiation of treatment. It is well known that, for most pati ents, there is a long delay between the onset of symptoms and the start of treatment. A number of factors are responsible for this time delay: signs a nd symptoms often go unrecognised by patients, relatives, and bystanders an d, unlike trauma or myocardial infarction, stroke is not given a high prior ity by medical staff. Studies into the pathophysiology of acute ischaemic s troke have indicated that treatment options are likely to be optimised when early signs of stroke are recognised and treatment is initiated within six hours of symptom onset. Although a small number of stroke patients are tre ated as emergencies and attended to by the emergency medical services withi n this time window, this number could easily be increased by intensified pu blic and emergency personnel education. In the future, it is hoped that tre atments which must be administered within the first few hours of acute stro ke will be able to be initiated by the emergency medical services. In the s ame way that hospitals are notified and prepared in advance to receive trau ma victims, early notification by the emergency medical services about stro ke patients would enable stroke teams to be present at admission, thus impr oving the likelihood of a better outcome for patients.